The name of the Dark Father
by Crystarr
Summary: LOKK:TE crossover. What if Kain and Raziel were removed from Nosgoth and placed among the Kindred on Earth? And what if the Kindred mixed up the names Kain and Caine? After what seems like forever, this damn story is finally complete! phew!
1. Default Chapter

Kain paced the chamber impatiently. How many minutes had it been since Raziel's body had dissapated into the Spectral Realm? Three? Five? Ten? In his entire existence, rarely had Kain been so aware of the passage of time. Seconds passed like years. The few moments it was taking for Raziel to compose himself and return to the Physical Plave seemed to stretch as long as his reign as Nosgoth's ruler had.  
  
"Or will do," remarked Kain to himself. But he was no longer even sure of that any more. He and Raziel had made several changes to the timeline recently, and he wasn't sure that he could reliably foretell what the future may have in store. He had known that there was a great risk in his plans, chief among them the fact that he could not completely control what the result of the changes would be. He had been careful, of course. He had prepared strategies, countermeasures, compensations for the dealings of Moebius and the dark powers that controlled the Time-Streamer. For years before he cast Raziel into the abyss, and the thousand years between that event and his son's return, he had continued to plan and consider. He had thought that he had taken every conceivable obstacle into account, or at least as much as it was possible.  
  
But he had overlooked something. The damned Hylden. Kain cursed himself for forgetting about them. True, it had been several millenia since he had stopped their return to Nosgoth, so long ago...but that should have made him all the more wary. The Hylden masquerading as the lord of the Sarafan had taunted Kain moments before his death, warning him that one day the Hylden would return. Kain had promised that on that day, he would stop them once again. The Sarafan Lord had simply retorted that he would not live that long.  
  
Had all of this been part of the Hylden's plans? Had all of his careful planning simply been part of his enemies' own strategy? Was he really that easy to predict?  
  
The tiniest of ripples moved through the air. Anyone who wasn't looking out for it would not have noticed it. Kain easily recognised it - a shift between the Physical and Spectral Planes. Raziel had finally returned.  
  
"The Reaver..." Raziel moaned, sounding more depressed than Kain had ever heard him before. "It's still with me. How? How will I ever escape it?"  
  
"Raziel..." Kain had very little practice at giving reassurance. "We stopped you from being absorbed by it once. We can stop it again, and next time, we'll ensure a permanant solution."  
  
"I think not, Vampire."  
  
Kain and Raziel both turned around. Kain wasn't sure whether to be delighted or dismayed. He'd hoped to get himself and Raziel out of the stronghold before the Sarafan came upon them, but at the same time, he had a lot of frustration to work out, and tearing Moebius' throat out would help a lot.  
  
"Moebius. Congratulations." Kain sneered. "Or at least, congratulations to your masters for their brilliant move - we all know that the puppet never makes the play."  
  
"You'd be suprised, Kain."  
  
"But I'd advise you to wait on the celebrations. As you and your fellow minions have so often advised Raziel here, while I exist your twisted vision of a perfect Nosgoth remains out of reach - and I'm far from buried yet."  
  
"Oh, but your existence is at an end...at least, your existence in Nosgoth." Someone walked into the room to join Moebius and his Sarafan bodyguards. Raziel didn't recognise the woman, but Kain knew her immediately.  
  
"Azimuth."  
  
"I'm flattered the almighty Kain remembers me."  
  
"Most odd. You would only have been born a few minutes ago, when Vorador slaughtered your predecessor. Which leads me to believe that there was more than one willing pawn within the Circle I destroyed."  
  
"What brilliant deduction." Azimuth chuckled. "Far too late, of course."  
  
"Perhaps not." Raziel muttered as he got up, baring his claws. "From what I undertsand, Kain will kill the both of you in a few centuries as a mere fledgling. With him far more powerful now, and with me as your enemy too, I'd say that your chances here look slim at best."  
  
Moebius laughed. "Of course, you could say that as Kain kills us a few centuries in the future, our survival here is assured."  
  
"You could say that as we've changed the future several times, your deaths may just have been rescheduled, Time Streamer." Raziel spat.  
  
"I'm afraid that no one will be dying today." Azimuth said. "However, the two of you are about to be...removed."  
  
Kain started forward as Azimuth chanted in an obscure language. Runes of blood, previously hidden from sight somehow, manifested around the chamber. There was a painfully bright flash of light, an almost unbearable sensation of heat...  
  
***  
  
Suddenly, it was night, and outside. The air was crisp, and there was a distinct lack of Sarafan knights surrounding Kain and Raziel.  
  
"What..?" Raziel looked around. "This...where are we? I've seen no architecture like this anywhere in Nosgoth!"  
  
Kain also examined the surroundings. "You're right. This isn't normal Nosgoth style. It reminds me..." Kain trailed off.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"It reminds me of a city I once stayed in briefly, a place called Meridian. Except that this place is more...clean. Less decrepit. But you are right - there is a style to it that does not fit any civilisation in Nosgoth."  
  
"But we must still be in Nosgoth! This hardly looks like a demon dimension or similar!"  
  
"I do not believe so. Azimuth...the Dimension Guardian. She must have sent us to another Dimension! This place seems compatible with Nosgoth - a physical dimension, nothing at all like Hell, or the Hylden's realm. Hmmm...Raziel, you could shift into the Spectral Realm. Maybe it will reveal something about this world that could be of use."  
  
"Assuming this world has a Spectral Realm." Raziel grumbled. His body shimmered, and he started to fade. But then he returned to his physical form. "What..?"  
  
"What is it? This place really does have no Spectral Realm?"  
  
"It does, but it feels a lot harder to get to than that of Nosgoth. I might be able to reach it with some time and effort..."  
  
"Later Raziel. We have company." A group of four people, three men and one woman, had turned into the alley. All four were wearing formal suits of a style neither Nosgoth native recognised. The man heading the group made a gesture of disgust.  
  
"Eeerrghhh. I've seem some damned ugly Nossies in my time, but these two redefine ugly!"  
  
"Especially that one!" The woman grinned. "Hey, honey, your face so bad that you have to wrap a towel around it?"  
  
Raziel growled. "It's been a bad day for me, mortal. Don't tempt fate."  
  
"Mortal?" One of the group retorted. "For a bunch of Nosferatu, you're damned unobservant. You lounge in the middle of an area belonging to the Brujah Clan and you expect to see a roaming gang of humans?"  
  
"I do not recognise your Clan, "Vampire", nor am I one of these Nosferatu that you speak of."  
  
"Yeah? Then what clan do you belong to? I can't think of many that have members that could shatter mirrors like your face would."  
  
"I am Raziel, Brujah, and I was the progenitor of the Razelim."  
  
The leader Brujah looked unimpressed. "Everyone's heard of the Brujah, Mr Raziel, but Razelim? That's a no-account backwater bloodline, I'll bhet. And what about you, Greenie? You one of his Razelim?"  
  
"Hardly. I have no clan. I need no crawling minions to hide behind."  
  
"Oooooh, big mean Vampire! Then who'se the Vampire that needs no clan?"  
  
"I am Kain."  
  
There was a long pause. Then one of the Brujah laughed. "Caine? Yeah, right. If Caine really was around and awake, I'm sure he'd be found lurking in a back alley chatting with some sewer rat like your friend there!"  
  
Kain chuckled. "At least you've heard of me. Such a shame that your insults have worn my patience down." With that, he let loose an energy bolt that blasted through the chest of the Brujah gang leader.  
  
"What the HELL?!?!" The gang stood dead still in shock. Pulling out a phosphorus gun was one thing - they'd have expected that. But a lightning bolt from the hands? The gang wasn't sure that anything short of an Antediluvian could pull of a trick like that. Before they could pull themselves together, Raziel had pounced one another of their number and plunged a claw into his chest. The remaining man felt his Auspex-enhanced senses flare up, and he watched in disbelief as they told him that the ugly guy with the towel, and apparently only half a face, was pulling his friend's soul from his body and consuming it!  
  
The female Brujah had just pulled out a gun when Kain used the Spirit Wrack spell he had discovered so long ago to eliminate her. The sole Brujah finally got his mind back together enough to turn and run...but too late. Raziel was behind him, and was activating the Soul Reaver. The Brujah backed up, and was promptly picked up by Kain.  
  
"Now then, Brujah, can you give us a reason not to have you join your friends?" Kain taunted.  
  
"Acckk...gnnn..." The Brujah tried to speak as Kain increased the pressure around the throat. "What...are you...? You gonna...kill Luna...?"  
  
Kain paused. "Luna? Is this Luna in a position of power?"  
  
The Brujah felt the pressure decrease slightly. "Julian Luna...he's the Prince of this city..."  
  
"Prince of a city?" Kain scoffed. "I've ruled an entire world? Still, if we are to learn about this world, a Prince will be as good a place as any to start. Very well. Go to your Prince. Tell him that Kain is coming."  
  
Kain threw the Brujah down the alley, where he hit the concrete hard. The Brujah forced his battered body to get up, daring to look back for one final glance. He was amazed to see the Vampire claiming to be Caine walk over to one of his dead friends and cause the blood in his body to shoot straight up into his mouth! He didn't want to see any more, but instead turned around and fled the scene. 


	2. Chapter 2

"You are dismissed."  
  
The Brujah didn't even acknowledge. He turned tail and fled out of the room.  
  
Julian Luna leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. He mused on how his city seemed to be a magnet for trouble. Two Blood Hunts in a year, botched Assamite attacks, deranged Nosferatu child-snatchers, more Masquerade breaches than he cared to remember, and now a Caine sighting? He wondered if he'd wake up tommorrow night to see a Sabbat or Lupine pack tearing down his doors.  
  
Luna looked at the Primogen Council members. The Ventrue Primogen chair was, of course, empty. Archon, the former Primogen and Luna's sire, was dead, and the Clan had yet to elect a new Primogen. And then there was the Brujah Primogen, Cameron, who also happened to be the one who emptied the Ventrue chair...no. Julian fought his anger down. This was far from the time to let grudges surface, old or new.  
  
Lillie was the first to speak. "Caine?" The Toreador gave a half-laugh. "What, did Gehenna come and go without us noticing?"  
  
Daedalus nodded in agreement. "I can't imagine that Caine would appear in the city without a single one of us noticing. I can't imagine that Caine would appear anywhere on the continent without a single one of us noticing!"  
  
"Agreed." Luna flexed his fingers. "It's clearly some Kindred posing as Caine for some bizzare reason. Maybe a Malkavian playing a prank. That's certainly happened before.  
  
Cameron shook his head. "There are very few Malkavians in this city, and none that could have done this to four of my Brujah!"  
  
Cash snorted. "Your big tough Brujah a moment ago looked like he'd be having trouble controlling his bladder if he had a usable one. It doesn't seem that strange to me that a crazed Malkavian with a phosphorus gun'd have much trouble with four of him!"  
  
Cameron slammed a palm on the table. "Bite your tongue, Gangrel, and try engaging your brain before your mouth! I personally oversaw the examination we did on the three corpses! The one with half a chest missing had no trace of phosphorus on him! None of them did!"  
  
Luna cut in before Cash could retort. "Then what did you find?"  
  
"The one had his chest blown up, some sort of electric attack. That agrees with Sanders' account of a lightning bolt. One had their heart ripped out by brute strength...but the hands that did it weren't like a human's or a Cainite's...not even the most deformed Nosferatu.!"  
  
Daedalus narrowed his eyes at the remark, but said nothing.  
  
"The third one, though...she had no injury at all."  
  
"Nothing?" Luna asked. "Then what was the cause of death?"  
  
"That's just it. There isn't one. Her body simply stopped working."  
  
Luna groaned. This he didn't need. "I'm not going to put any belief in Caine rumours, inexplicable deaths or no. What about the other creature? Raisel?"  
  
"Raziel, according to Sanders. I have no idea. From his description, he sounds like a Nosferatu squared."  
  
"Nictuku?" Daedalus whispered.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"No." Daedalus shook his head. "There've been no unexplained Nosferatu disappearances recently. If this Raziel was a Nictuku, his first victims wouldn't have been a Brujah gang."  
  
Luna started to ask Daedalus to elaborate, but decided that he had enough to worry about. "So what kind of Vampire tears and eats the soul out of its victims?"  
  
Lillie shuddered. "Some sort of mutant psychotic Salubri?"  
  
Cash looked little happier. "A Tzimisce elder with some new Discipline?"  
  
Daedalus frowned unhappily. "A rogue Tremere?"  
  
Cameron joined the doom-sayers. "A super-powered Caitiff?"  
  
"People!" Luna called. "We're getting delusional here. We're seeing monsters and conspiracies all over the place. We have no way to know who or what these creatures are. I suggest we concentrate on the practical. Whatever they are, they're dangerous to the Masquerade. Cash, get your Gangrel out there looking. You and your Brujah too, Cameron - for all we know, these guys could be Brujah-haters. Daedalus, ask the Nosferatu if anyone's come across some relevant information."  
  
The Council murmured and started to break up. Luna grabbed Cash as he made to leave.  
  
"Cash, I'd appreciate if you didn't tell Sasha about this."  
  
Cash nodded. "Don't worry, Julian."  
  
Luna slumped back into his chair. What next, he wondered.  
  
***  
  
Elsewhere in the city, Kain was doing a little exploration.  
  
After their run in with the Brujah gang, he and Raziel had found an old abandoned storehouse of some kind. It looked like one of the huge strage buildings that humans had used to store goods in industrial cities like Meridian in Kain's Vampiric youth. Even the machines were reminiscent of the machinery powered by Glyph magic in those days, though whatever form of magic powered the machines here, it was far less deadly to vampires than Glyph magic, for which Kain gave thanks.  
  
Raziel was prowling the area near their temporary sanctuary, ensuring it was secure. Kain had decided to move further out, to try and gain some knowledge of the world to which Azimuth had thrown them. Raziel couldn't accompany him, of course - his appearance would attract far too much attention. Kain, on the other hand, could use his powers to hide his nature under a mask of humanity. Now he walked amongst humans unseen, and could concentrate on his discoveries.  
  
At first, he'd only been able to discern the basics. This world was far more populated than Nosgoth, if the city was any indication. Houses seemed to cram into each other, and in some places the buildings reached into the sky. Though they didn't stretch endlessly into the heavens as the Pillars of Nosgoth had once, they were far taller than virtually any other construction in Nosgoth.  
  
After a few hours, Kain had been gifted a stroke of luck - he came across a library. The script was in no language he recognised, so he had to improvise. He sat himself in a chair with some random book placed in front of him to create an illusion of study, then reached out with his mind, taking control of a nearby human who he was pretty sure was not with others. Through the mind of the human, he was able to translate all but the more complex and difficult parts of the language used here.  
  
First, he concentrated on the world. His first attempts were too large - he learned that this world was called Earth, and found himself staring at detailed maps of the entire realm through the mortal's eyes. He noted that the humans here seemed more advanced than those in Nosgoth - even the commoners had access to knowledge that on Nosgoth would only been known to scholars - but maps of other continents were of little use to him.  
  
A second search proved more fruitful. Kain was in the city of "San Fransisco" in a country called "America", or possibly "Usa" - the humans seemed to use more than one name for their places. After learning some of the geography of the city, Kain directed the human to gain information about Vampires and the supernatural.  
  
He was amazed. This world, as advanced as it was, seemed to progress with very little magic at all. Indeed, the majority of people here didn't even believe in magic, and those few factual sources he found described earth and mind based magics that were a far cry from the obvious magics that were everyday in Nosgoth. Even more suprising was the fact that no one here believed in Vampires. Kain knew them to exist - he and Raziel had dispatched a couple the previous night - but the Vampires on Earth had aparently done an incredible job of convincing humankind that they were nothing more than a fairytale. Kain chuckled - Vorador would have loved it here!  
  
Kain was intrigued by the accounts of Vampires he read here. Vampires were apparently extremely vunerable to sunlight, so much so that a few moments exposure would turn them to dust. Kain wondered if this was true, or if this was just a misperception of the weaker state of a Vampire in daylight. He read about various myths, some that applied to him (such as shape- shifting and inhuman strength), some that had applied to some of the youngest and weakest Vampires in his Empire, and some that seemed implausible to him. A creature as powerful as a Vampire repelled by a simple plant? Ridiculous.  
  
Kain read for several hours before he started to feel weaker. Over the millenia, his powers and magical energy had increased enormously, but even his powers weren't infinite. If he continued to control the human as he was, his disguise would soon start to fade. Reluctantly, he released the mortal, who stumbled dizzily for a moment, then checked a small contraption strapped to his wrist, cried out a few choice words, and ran out of the library. Kain chuckled as he made his own exit.  
  
An hour later, including a quick pause to feed, Kain was back at the warehouse, filling Raziel in on the day's findings.  
  
"And no Vampires?"  
  
"No." Kain replied. "The Vampires here have done a truly masterful job at hiding their existence. The humans don't believe they exist. Remarkable."  
  
"So then what do we do now? If there is no magic here that we can use to return to Nosgoth, how will we return?"  
  
"The humans seem to have no access to magic, but I theorise that this may be another part of the deception that the Vampires have played upon them. We should find the Prince Luna that the fledgling mentioned a night ago. He would be our best bet at this moment."  
  
Raziel leaned against the wall. "And how do you propose to do this?"  
  
"I don't propose anything, Raziel. The Prince knows of our existence - we allowed one Vampire to escape yesterday, and the Prince will surely have been his first destination. And if Luna did not have the resources to track us down, he would never have gained control of a city in the first place. Such weaklings do not rule for long."  
  
"And if he will not aid us?"  
  
Kain chuckled. "He will, Raziel. When I am through with him, he will aid us."  
  
***  
  
Not too far away, Cash and his Gangrels were searching through the warehouses at the docks. There had been a sighting of a monsterous figure that fitted Raziel's description. The gang had locked down their bikes and were following Lana, who had the keenest enhanced senses of the group.  
  
Cash had been sure to shoot down any questions about Caine that the group had - he didn't want any part of those rumours. He didn't believe for a second that Caine really was skulking around in the docks, and any hysteria over the so-called original Vampire would be distracting. Still, he couldn't shake a distant feeling that something was wrong.  
  
That body they'd discovered a while ago. Drained of blood and no fang marks, not remarkable in itself. But the trail of blood...for about a foot there had been blood drops on the ground, and there was a light splatter of blood on the victim's chest. From the looks of it, it seemed that the blood had burst out of the body and flown into the mouth of a Vampire standing a few steps away. Impossible, of course. Probably a ruse. But for what purpose?  
  
Lana stopped outside a warehouse. "Here." She whispered. "There's a Vampire...of some kind in here."  
  
"Clan? Age? Anything?"  
  
"Can't tell. But he's with...something. Like nothing I ever smelled before."  
  
"Can you hear them?"  
  
"Hang on...yeah, just about. They're talking about...about...Vampires. Vampires...here? Something about magic."  
  
"Magic? Are they Tremere?"  
  
"Don't think so. Wait...I heard 'Luna'!"  
  
"Julian..." Cash growled. They had designs on the Prince. "Get out your guns, guys. We're going in!"  
  
***  
  
With a crash, the door to the warehouse came down, and the Gangrels poured in, firing away. The phosphorus blasts slammed into Raziel's body, punching holes and burning flesh. To Cash's suprise, Raziel staggered back in slow motion and simply faded out of sight. His Auspex powers flared up, trying to find anything hidden in Obsfucate. Nothing.  
  
Kain was hit by one blast, in the arm, but by no others. A blue glow had enveloped his body and manifested as a faint blue arua-shield of some kind. The rest of the volley simply ricocheted off the shield. One of the Gangrels fell to his own shot. Kain raised an arm and fired off a blast of lightning. The Gangrels scattered as the lightning blew a hole in the wall. Quickly, they surrounded Kain, guns at the ready. Kain did not seem worried. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small shuriken. Cash allowed himself a grin. All the Gangrels here were quick enough to avoid a thrown weapon.  
  
Kain threw the shuriken. It flew towards Lana, who simply side-stepped the weapon. But the weapon turned in mid air, and before Cash could shout a warning, it had struck her in the back. To Cashes horror, Lana barely had time to scream before the flesh on her body melted and shredded off the bone. The bloody visceral skeleton that moments ago had been his friend collapsed to the floor.  
  
Cash was teetering on the edge of the Rotschreck, something that he hadn't experienced in over two centuries. What the hell was this guy? What kind of Vampire could create an inpenetrable shield, fire lightning bolts and wielded tiny death stars that left the victim a skeleton? He noticed that the shield was starting to wane, and held up his gun to fire. He felt a slight ripple in the air, and then his gun was on the floor and he had a deep slash in his chest. Raziel was standing above him, a bizzare glowing sword of some kind eminating from his arm, pointing at his throat. Kain glanced at the other Gangrel, and the guns were lowered.  
  
"Now that the obligatory fighting is finished," Kain said with a hint of amusement. "Perhaps now we can talk business." 


	3. Chapter 3

Two Vampires talked quietly in a dark alley in a quiet part of the city. They had taken great care to avoid detection by humans and by other Kindred. Humans should never know about them for the obvious reasons, but they would also prefer to avoid the sights of Vampires here. For these two Kindred were of the Tremere clan, who officially had no presence in San Fransisco. The former Prince, Archon, had held a deep grudge against the Tremere, and that animosity was contiuned by his childe, the current Prince. So the Tremere had to work in secret within this city.  
  
Currently, the Tremere were investigating the recent Caine rumours. Not that they believed that Caine was here any more than Luna and the Primogens, but reports of the Vampire using powerful and unknown magical attacks was most certainly of interest. The Tremere were secretive and possesive of information of all kinds, but when it came to Vampiric magic, the average Tremere felt offended that any other clan would dare to have abilities and knowledge unkown to them.  
  
"Well, Tenor?"  
  
Alisha Tenor clipped her phone to her belt. "A group of Gangrel, led by the Gangrel Primogen, have just engaged the subjects. My contact says that the fight was brief. Several Gangrel dead, the Primogen and the remainder captive. Both subjects still alive."  
  
Terrance Avid nodded. "Any new powers noted?"  
  
"The Caine imposter employed a supernatural shield spell of some kind, and used some sort of weapon that tore apart the body of a Gangrel. The one named Raziel was apparently shot mutliple times with phosphorus guns, disappeared and reappeared moments later unharmed. He also used the glowing weapon we heard about before - a glancing blow brought the Primogen to his knees. Contact says that the Gangrel never stood a chance."  
  
Avid folded his arms. "I see. Then we won't move in just yet. We'll keep watch over the subjects until I can come up with a way to capture them with minimal risk."  
  
***  
  
Cash groaned. The bizzare sword-thing that Raziel had used on him had only barely penetrated his flesh, yet the pain and the damage that it had inflicted were so great that he'd been sure the slash was very deep. It was as if his energy had been drained out of him in the half-second the sword had been in contact with him. As "Caine" and Raziel had bound him and his clan-mates with metal cable, he'd tried to use the blood in his system to heal the wound. It should have sealed in a few moments, but the healing process was taking longer than it had ever before. It was as if he was trying to re-grow a severed finger rather than a flesh wound.  
  
"I'll assume that none of you here is actually Luna" said Kain. "Which one of you is the leader?"  
  
Cash hesitated, but with the injury taking so long to heal, he doubted that he could regain his strength quickly enough to execute any real plan. His best bet was to try and get the two monsters talking, maybe get some information out of them. His enhanced senses also sensed a Vampire watching the scene. He couldn't see any other than his Gangrel and the two strange Vampires, so he hoped that it was a Nosferatu that would let Daedalus know of the situation.  
  
"I'm the leader." Cash muttered.  
  
"Indeed. Well, I'm sure that you know our names, so perhaps you would grace us with a few details about yourself?"  
  
"I'm Cash." Kain prodded Cash, and Cash elaborated. "Clan Gangrel. The Gangrel Primogen."  
  
Kain smirked. "Primogen? I hope that doesn't make you the most powerful 'Gangrel' Vampire around. I would be most disappointed."  
  
Cash growled. Kain ignored him. "So did your Prince send you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"A written invitation would have been more appreciated and less painful. Listen to me, Cash, I don't hold with dealing with middlemen. I'd like to have a talk with your Prince in person. And I would be honoured if the Gangrel Primogen were to arrange that for me."  
  
"What, so you can try and kill Julian?" Cash snapped.  
  
"I'm hurt, Cash." Kain mocked. "We're all Vampires here. I just want a little discussion."  
  
"Give me one good reason why I should."  
  
"Because the next few days can go in one of two ways. One - you go to your Prince like an obediant little boy and return tommorrow night with the details of our meeting. Or two - you don't turn up, and I decide to chase down Luna cutting through the city's Vampires, yourself included, like a sword through your throat. I trust I am understood?"  
  
Cash nodded. He didn't feel up to speaking without throwing several choice swear words at the green-skinned monster.  
  
Kain chuckled. He extended a claw and snapped through the cable with an ease that made Cash shudder. Raziel freed the rest of the Gangrel, still with the Reaver eminating from his hand. Kain gestured towards the door, and the Gangrel slipped out.  
  
"It amazes me how you can be the gentleman even while putting your victims through Hell, Kain."  
  
Kain laughed. "Thousands of years of practice Raziel. But tell me, how was the Spectral Plane of this world?"  
  
Raziel shrugged. "Strange. At the same time fuller and emptier than that of Nosgoth. The world itself seems to pulsate with life, a bright energy. But I saw no stray souls, as if they'd all already gone straight to the great beyond. Nor were there any Sluagh, or anything similar. I sensed other presences, but all far away."  
  
"Other presences?"  
  
"Some I think were humans and Vampires, perhaps sorcerers reaching with their minds into the Spectral Realm. Others...were huge, powerful, and unrecognisable."  
  
"Interesting. But I hope to be back in Nosgoth expressing my displeasure to Meobius and Azimuth long before we encounter any of these mysterious beings. First though, I have some business to take care of."  
  
Kain dissolved into mist and vanished from view. Several seconds passed, and then from the top of the warehouse there was a scream. Raziel ran out through the door just in time to see a Vampire fall from the roof, burned from Kain's Immolation attack. Kain reappeared by Raziel. He looked down to a small object that had landed on the Vampire's body. Judging from the voice that was quietly emitting from it, it was some sort of communication device. Kain picked it up.  
  
"I despise spies." Kain spoke into the device. "Unless they're my own, of course."  
  
With a small squeeze, he crushed the phone.  
  
***  
  
In the alley, Tenor continued to relay her contact's report to Avid. "The Caine-Vampire wants a meeting with Luna."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He hasn't said apparently. Wait...the Gangrel have been released. Probably to send the message to Luna."  
  
A few moments passed.  
  
"Contact says that the subjects are talking. He's moving to hear better...something about a Spectral Realm. Maybe an ethereal plane of existence. And of a place...Nosgoth. Something called 'Sluvag' too. And..." Tenors gasped and moved the phone from her ear. Avid could hear a scream from the other end, and a sinister crackling sound. Tenor spoke urgently into the phone.  
  
"Report! What's happening?"  
  
A deep, malicious voice answered. "I despise spies. Unless they're my own, of course." The phone burst into static.  
  
Tenor looked Avid in the eyes. "I think we can mark our contact as lost."  
  
Avid frowned. "Then we'll investigate ourselves."  
  
***  
  
"WHAT?!" Luna cried.  
  
"That's what he said." Cash said, then winced in pain. "Daedalus!"  
  
The Nosferatu Primogen shrugged. "A strange wound. The skin around the cut looks...both melted and rotted somehow. But it seems to be healing, albeit at a retarded rate. You'll need to feed more to heal it completely."  
  
Luna groaned. "Right. Daedalus, I'll need you to spy on these two. See if you can find out anything about them. Origin, motive, abilities, anything. Don't let them find you, and above all else, DON'T get drawn into a fight! I don't want any more deaths at their hands."  
  
Daedalus nodded, and disappeared into the shadows.  
  
"What are you going to do, Julian?"  
  
Julian sighed. "I'm going to speak to Lillie. Tommorrow night you'll take as many Gangrel as you can muster and take 'Caine' to the Haven. I just hope he'll show the same respect for Elysium as the rest of us Vampires do." 


	4. Chapter 4

Only a few hours remained until sunrise. Daedalus slowed his movement through the shadows towards the warehouse where Kain and Raziel were residing. Every one of his senses were at their peak, searching for the smallest sign of one of the strange intruders to the city. As a Primogen, his Obfuscate abilities were highly potent, but the pair that he had been sent to spy on had displayed numerous inexplicable and powerful abilities, and Daedalus wasn't prepared to assume that he could hide from them. He crept slowly, almost arm's length from the door to the warehouse, when it suddenly flung itself open. Kain strode out, looked around, and set his gaze directly where Daedalus was standing. The Nosferatu froze, waited for the inevitable attack...  
  
"Raziel!" Kain called. "Be on the lookout for more spies of the Prince."  
  
Raziel's voice called back from inside. "I heard you the first time Kain. And I'll say it one more time - I am not your servant any more!"  
  
"True, but that does not diminish the validity of my...suggestion. I have little doubt that Luna will send someone to watch us until the Gangrel return."  
  
Raziel said something else, but it was a little too quiet for Daedalus to pick up. Strange, though. He, along with the rest of the council, had assumed that Raziel was simply a servant of the monster masquerading as Caine. But the brief conversation - argument, he would call it - suggested otherwise.  
  
Before he could reflect further on this, a movement caught his eye. Someone, a Vampire, was watching Kain also. Daedalus wondered if Luna had sent another Vampire to spy on Kain and Raziel. But the Vampire was clearly not Nosferatu, and almost certainly not Gangrel. Daedalus doubted that Julian would send a Kindred from another clan on such a mission. Odd...  
  
Kain left the area, and the Vampire, whoever he was...they were, Daedalus corrected himself as he saw a second shadow follow the Vampire, also made their leave. Daedalus wondered whether to report this to Julian, but decided to continue his mission. He slipped inside the warehouse to observe the decrepit creature with the glowing blade.  
  
***  
  
Avid and Tenor followed Kain as he left the warehouse and entered into the streets of the city. As he did so, his body morphed from a green-skinned monster to a normal-looking human, albeit with slightly odd clothes.  
  
"I don't believe it..." Tenor muttered. "Even his aura...if I didn't know, I'd swear he was human!"  
  
"Just a disguise, impressive as it may be." Avid replied. "But we can assume that Caine does not wish to be noticed."  
  
"By humans. His actions to date make it apparent that he doesn't care how many Vampires notice him."  
  
"Perhaps. Or perhaps he simply doesn't want to be noticed at this time by anyone...hmm?"  
  
Kain had walked to the edge of the river nearby. He paused to look around, as if to check for anyone who might be watching. Fortunately, the Tremere were hidden around the corner of a wall, and Kain missed them. Kain crouched, eyeing the water with distaste, then simply leapt right to the bank on the other side, covering a distance several times the size of a football pitch. The Tremere abandoned their hiding place, identical gapes of disbelief on their faces.  
  
"What the hell was THAT?!" Tenor cried.  
  
"He just jumped...how far?" Avid whispered.  
  
Tenor swore. "Great. So how do we catch up with him?"  
  
"Huh. Unless we can jump the river, and I'm not willing to try, by the time we reach the other side he'll be long gone. Damn. I think we should make plans for tomorrow. Caine's demanded to meet with Luna, and I'd bet a week's feeding that the Prince will hold it at the Haven, hoping that Caine will keep from violence at Elysium. So that's where we're going to be."  
  
***  
  
Daedalus watched Raziel as the ruined being passed the time taking swipes at imaginary enemies, occasionally muttering curses directed at someone called Moebius. Daedalus noted the name, but for a while was unable to learn anything else from his observation.  
  
Eventually, though, Raziel squatted on the floor and called up the glowing blade from his arm. Daedalus noted what might have been a look of despair on Raziel's face, though the cloth that covered the lower half of his face made it hard to be sure.  
  
"Damned thing..." Raziel sighed. "Are you...am I...are you still intelligent? Do you understand me? Or have you been the Soul Reaver for so long that your sentience is as decayed as my body?"  
  
Raziel pulled his banner from his face, and Daedalus barely concealed a gasp. Raziel was missing his entire lower skull, and much of his neck and upper chest! The Brujah and Gangrel he'd talked to and considered Raziel to be a possible Nosferatu, but Daedalus could see now that Raziel's disfigurement went far beyond that of his own clan. Hell, he'd seen Samedi that looked more human than Raziel!  
  
"Am I still destined to become you?" Raziel questioned his weapon. "Kain thinks that he can stop that. That he can keep me from ever being absorbed into the Reaver. But I'm starting to wonder...Janos. Did you know? Is this what you meant when you told me the Reaver was forged for me? I wish I'd had more time to learn about the Reaver and the Pillars from you. I wish I'd never led myself to you. I wish I'd killed Moebius in William's tomb. So many regrets...and still I must use the weapon I've come to hate so much..."  
  
Raziel got to his feet and considered the Reaver. "No elemental forges here. I wonder if it can still be imbued."  
  
Raziel remembered how the Reaver had been imbued with fire in the wastelands of Nosgoth's distant future. Once imbued, it had needed only to be inserted into flame to return the power of Fire to itself. But that ability had disappeared when the Reaver had fully awoken at the Sarafan Stronghold. Since then, Raziel had been using the fonts created by the Ancients long before. Now, without that option, Raziel wondered if he could still power up his weapon.  
  
***  
  
Lillie put her hands on her hips. "Oh, of course. you've got two insane and overpowered psychopaths roaming in the city, so your reaction is to invite them to my club."  
  
Luna frowned. "The Haven is Elysium for this city, Lillie."  
  
"True. And most Vampires respect Elysium. But then, most Vampires don't commit diablerie, or have unheard of destructive powers, or pretend to be Caine."  
  
"The Haven is the closest thing there is to a safe place to meet them."  
  
"You mean the two that easily took down a whole party of Gangrel, including Cash? What is your plan for when they start killing in the Haven. There are humans there too, plus several gangs of Vampires who might well decide to take the fight to the new enemy. How do you propose to keep the Masquerade intact then?"  
  
"Caine told Cash that if the meeting didn't take place he'd create a wave of destruction in the city. At least this way we have a chance of avoiding a breach."  
  
Lillie sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I prefered it when we were dealing with Fiori. At least we knew he was killable."  
  
"Lillie..."  
  
"I know, Julian. And the Haven will be ready for you. But don't ask me to like it."  
  
Though neither noticed, someone was standing at the door, listening. Sasha narrowed her eyes, then turned and quickly made her way down the corridor, walking to where her bike was waiting for her.  
  
She needed to speak to Cash.  
  
***  
  
Kain stalked through the darkened streets of what he assumed would be the slums of this city. This area struck a resemblance to the slums of Meridian - boarded windows and doors, graffitti, bums and other lowlifes. An excellent feeding ground.  
  
Kain followed a shambling figure into a dark alleyway. The alley was secluded, and Kain figured he could feed in peace there. But once he stepped into the alley, his senses warned him that it was a trap.  
  
The shadows seemed to spring to life, and Kain found himself bound by dark tendrils. Several people, Vampires, approached him. The bum he'd followed discarded his rages, proudly displaying cleaner casual wear.  
  
"The humans around here are so dumb!" The Vampire laughed. "That's what, seven tonight?"  
  
Kain growled. "I have no patience to deal with fledglings. Release me and I may spare your lives."  
  
"Whooo-oooh!" A female Vampire taunted. "Bet you a buck and a half we don't spare your life!"  
  
Kain shook his head. "Fine." He discarded his human guise and cast a spell of light. The light wasn't even close to sunlight in power, not enough to harm his enemies. The shadows, on the other hand, dissapated instantly. One of the gang stared in shock.  
  
"Wha...what did you just do?"  
  
"Nothing compared to what lies in store for you."  
  
"Is that so, oh dark one?" From deeper in the alley, a taunting voice emerged. A Vampire appeared, but this one looked far from human. His eyes were in the wrong place, his nose was far too big, and his mouth seemed to have been turned to the right angle of where it should have been. Kain raised an eyebrow. Finally, an evolved Vampire. He'd started to wonder if the entire city was made up of fledglings.  
  
"This city has been marked for the Sabbat. But you should feel honoured - you'll be the first Camarilla Vampire whose blood shall pave the way for our invasion."  
  
"I do not know what a Camarilla Vampire is, but I can tell you what type of Vampire I can see in all of you. Dead ones."  
  
The Tzimisce charged forward, but Kain met him with a beserk attack. Tens of clawed slashes fell on the Cainite at lightning speed before Kain delivered the blow that sent the Tzimisce sprawling. He felt the approach of the other Vampires, and span on the ball of his foot, throwing a green, slimy object into the chest of the nearest.  
  
The Vampire screamed, and as her pack watched, she melted into a puddle of green goo, sending blobs flying as she spasmed into liquid. The Tzimisce looked impressed by this.  
  
"Not bad, my dear victim. But I'm afraid that killing one of us simply makes the rest of us more eager for a kill."  
  
Kain smirked. "Then you should celebrate, as you're about to get all the kills you can handle."  
  
"And just what do you mean by that?"  
  
"Your friends were standing a little too close to our recently deceased fledgling."  
  
The Tzimisce stared in amazement as the little splatters of goo that had showered the other Vampires started dissolving the flesh that they covered. In moments, the screaming Vampires were increasing the size of the green puddle. The Tzimisce automatically took a step forward, wanting to collect a sample, imagining the possibilities of obtaining such a weapon.  
  
The next thing he knew, a clawed hand had impaled him through the heart. The last thing he saw before the darkness swallowed his sight was Kain's fangs.  
  
***  
  
Daedalus couoldn't figure out what Raziel was trying to do. Raziel had looked around the warehouse, finally dragging an ultraviolet lamp from the wall. Apparently, some worker or other had been using it to grow mushrooms. Raziel tested the light.  
  
"Bright...and it seems to feel more like sunlight that the other artificial lights this place has. Just as well. I'd rather avoid lighting a fire in a building with so much that could burn."  
  
Daedalus noted the boxes of bedding that the warehouse contained, and secretly agreed with Raziel.  
  
Raziel turned the lamp onto full, and then put the Reaver into the glow. Moments passed, and to Daedalus' suprise, it went from a dim blue glow to a bright golden shine. It was as if the blade had somehow absorbed the light of the lamp.  
  
"It feels...off somehow. Perhaps because the light was artificial. But at least I know that it works." Raziel swiped the Reaver in the air a few times, and the weapon gave a shrieking sound. Then Raziel tried an energy bolt from the blade. The light bolt shot from the Reaver's tip and impacted against the wall, less than two feet from where Daedalus was standing. The light flared, and for a moment Daedalus felt as if he were standing in broad daylight. Thankfully, the light faded immediately. But Raziel was looking towards him in suprised anger, and Daedalus realised that the light had momentarily dispelled the shadows that he was hiding in. And Raziel had seen him!  
  
Daedalus ran for the door, but was too slow. Before he could reach it, the Reaver jabbed the wall a few feet in front of him. It was a calculated jab - Raziel had guessed where the Nosferatu Primogen might have reached hidden in shadows, and had thankfully missed. But this close to him, the Reaver's light was casting away the shadows, and Daedalus was in plain sight of the enemy. The enemy who was now pointing the Reaver right at Daedalus' throat. Daedalus could feel the flesh of his upper body sting at the presence of the light, but even more frightening was the look of Raziel's eyes. They were glowing slits that were angled in impatient anger, and they held Daedalus' gaze as if they were the eyes of a Gorgon turning him to stone.  
  
"Oh damn..." 


	5. Chapter 5

The two Tremere operatives looked down at the Tzimisce body and the large green pool. Tenor crouched down by the pool, peering intently.  
  
"Interesting. Could Caine have somehow melted the Vampires into this?"  
  
Avid looked down at the Tzimisce. "No such spectacle for their leader. I wonder if this was some psychological torture. Maybe he taunted this Fiend here by melting his companions before his eyes, before tearing out his heart. Get a sample of that substance, Tenor."  
  
Avid considered the situation. A Sabbat pack? There'd been little other signs of the Sabbat in this city, so he assumed that this was an advance scouting party or something similar. One thing was for certain - they'd picked the wrong Vampire to play with this time. From what he'd seen of the one pretending to be Caine, and from the evidence in this alley, the warpack wouldn't have stood a chance.  
  
"Avid!"  
  
Avid span around. While collecting a sample, a drop of the green liquid had fallen onto Tenor's hand. Avid watched in macabre interest as the flesh started to bubble and melt on his companion's hand. Tenor took it less well, screaming and waving her hand about.  
  
But suddenly, the melting stopped. Tenor had lost her hand, but the decay failed to travel any further up her arm. Avid noticed that at the same moment that the damage stopped, the green puddle had thinned out and turned transparent, like green-tinted water. He grabbed Tenor by tyhe shoulders and slapped her hard, bringing her back from the brink of a frenzy.  
  
"Control yourself, Tenor!"  
  
Tenor pulled herself together, though she was clearly shaken. "F-forgive me..."  
  
"You were lucky. The substance must have lost its potency just as you dropped it on yourself. Its power is considerable, but temporary. I suggest you do some feeding, and then we'll call it a night. I doubt we'll get much more information until the meeting tomorrow."  
  
***  
  
Daedalus couldn't tear himself from the gaze of the two glowing sockets that had turned their full attention onto him. They burned their way into his mind even more than the light of the weapon at his throat burned into his skin.  
  
"You are blessed in one way, Vampire." Raziel growled. "If it had been Kain who had discovered you, you would be dead now."  
  
"And you..?" Daedalus managed to ask.  
  
"I like to think of myself as a little more fair-minded. But I am not known for my patience, so you'd do well to start talking. You can start by telling me who you are."  
  
"Daedalus. I'm the Nosferatu Primogen here..."  
  
"Primogen? The one called Cash also used that title. You seem to be a little more evolved than he was, though, and more powerful if that trick with the shadows was any indication. Now, perhaps you'll tell me why you were watching me from the shadows."  
  
"We...the Prince asked me to watch you...just until the meeting..."  
  
Raziel's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, Daedalus could feel the cold fingers of Final Death reach for him. Then the bizzare blade disappeared, and Raziel backed off. Daedalus hadn't felt so relieved since he discovered that Julian had survived Eddie Fiori's assassination attempt.  
  
"I don't find it hard to believe that your Prince would be nervous knowing that Kain stalks his streets."  
  
"Your friend is rapidly gaining a reputation here." Daedalus quickly returned to the calm, collective personality he usually displayed. It was so much easier to display confidence when you weren't staring at death in the form of a brightly glowing sword.  
  
"He has a way of doing that. You wouldn't believe how many people in Nosgoth would happily see him dead."  
  
"Then he came here to escape persecution?" Daedalus hoped that this wasn't the case. If it were true, then more people from this 'Nosgoth' place may come visiting. And he dreaded to think of what could cause someone with the power that Caine had displayed to turn and run."  
  
Raziel laughed. "Hardly. Let's just say that we are not here by choice."  
  
"I see. This Nosgoth you refer to..."  
  
Raziel titled his head. "Yes?"  
  
"I'm afraid that I have never heard of it. Could you tell me where it is? In Europe, perhaps? Or maybe Asia?"  
  
"No, you wouldn't know it. It certainly wouldn't appear on any map of Yoo- sa."  
  
Daedalus blinked. "Yoo-sa?"  
  
"That is what your land is called, is it not? Yoo-sa, also known as America?"  
  
Daedalus spent several moments in confused indecision before revelation struck. "Oh, I understand, you mean the USA."  
  
"Do I?"  
  
"Yes, the word is actually an abbreviation..."  
  
***  
  
Despite his chest wound, Cash was on the streets looking for any sign of trouble. His bikers were patrolling the city, looking for any possible Masquerade breaches that the Caine imposter might cause. They'd all been warned against any confrontation if at all possible, but...  
  
"Hey, Cash?"  
  
Cash winced and turned around. "Trouble's brewing, Sasha. You don't want to be out tonight."  
  
"Why? Is Caine going to come after me?"  
  
Cash flinched. How did Sasha know...?  
  
"I heard Julian and Lillie talking about him. They were pretty damn uptight about it. I heard that you and Caine actually had a meeting, and the first thing you say to me is to get off the streets. Something you want to tell me?"  
  
Cash clenched a fist. "We can talk about it later."  
  
"Or we can talk about it now."  
  
Cash growled, and pulled Sasha into a shadowed street corner. "Listen to me, Sasha. This Caine guy, whoever he really is, is bad news. He and his little buddy took me and my entire gang down, and they were barely trying. You do NOT want to get involved with them!"  
  
Sasha put a hand on Cash's chest. "I don't want...what?"  
  
Before Cash could stop her, Sasha had pulled his shirt open, exposing his wound. The Reaver's cut had healed to a degree, but it still looked like someone had taken a bunsen burner to a knife cut.  
  
"My god...did he do this?"  
  
Cash pulled his shirt closed. "I don't want to talk about it. Look, trust me on this, Sasha. Julian's arranged a meeting with Caine. He's going to find out what this monster wants and get him the hell out of the city. And then we can breathe a little easier, alright?"  
  
Sasha nodded, and pulled Cash into a hug. Cash sighed, and returned the embrace.  
  
Why didn't he feel that things would be that simple?  
  
***  
  
Kain crouched on the roof of an old, abandoned house, watching the two Vampires that had trailed him. At first, he had assumed that they were more spies from the Prince, and had simply used his powers to escape them. When they came across the remains of the Sabbat Vampires he had dispatched, though, he had chosen to do a little spying of his own.  
  
It had proven fruitful. Amusing too, when Tenor had almost lost her hand through sheer carelessness, dipping her hand into the pool created by his Font of Putresence like that. But after listening to more of their conversation, he had learned much of value. Firstly, these two were not apparently agents of Luna, nor were they friends of the Sabbat. Even better, Avid had mentioned the existence of Elysium, the place where Luna would arrange to meet Kain. Elysium in this city took the form of a meeting place called the Haven.  
  
Kain momentarily considered confronting the two Tremere, but decided against it. They seemed of little threat to him, and he would rather survey the Haven prior to the meeting. If Luna tried anything on his home ground, Kain would prefer to know the battlefield.  
  
Kain, still wearing the disguise that his Beguile spell had provided him with, approached two men dressed in the uniforms of the law enforcers of this world.  
  
"Excuse me, gentlemen."  
  
The police officers looked up at Kain. Apparently, Kain had appeared in the middle of a heated discussion. Kain paused, momentarily. The nearer man had slightly wild hair and an intense look about him. But it was the dark- skinned man who attracted Kain's attention - if his senses were to be trusted, the man was a Vampire. Kain was a little impressed that the Vampires of this world had infiltrated human society this much, though he'd never admit this to anyone.  
  
The Vampire frowned. "Yes, sir?"  
  
Kain quickly brought his mind back to the task in hand. "I require directions to an establishment called 'The Haven'."  
  
The Vampire pointed down the street. "It's nearby. Down the street, second on your left, then third right, then it's about halfway down the street, right-hand side."  
  
"I thank you."  
  
Kain walked off. The human cop turned to his partner.  
  
"That one of your guys, Sonny?"  
  
Sonny shook his head. "I thought for a moment...but no. He's human, if my Auspex is worth a damn."  
  
Frank chuckled without humour. "Your powers must be worth a damn - how long did they work on me?"  
  
Sonny sighed. "I keep telling you, Frank, I never used anything on you." Sonny forced away a guilty memory of removing a few memories from Frank's memory the first time his cover had been blown. "You're my friend."  
  
"Yeah, you keep saying. Strange that as a friend you failed to mention the odd little detail. Like you being one of these Vampires that keep making me look crazy!"  
  
"I keep telling you..."  
  
"You do. Look, let's just drop it, OK? I can yell at you later. Right now, let's just look for this Caine guy Luna's so scared of."  
  
Sonny groaned. "I hope we don't meet him."  
  
***  
  
Raziel didn't know why he'd allowed Daedalus to live, and he certainly didn't know why he'd found himself sitting down with the Nosferatu, to start talking about his life and situation...  
  
No. He knew. Daedalus, his manner of talking and general personality, reminded him very much of Janos Audron. Physically, they were very different - Daedalus had a hairless, twisted appearance that lacked Janos' wings, complexion and accent. But they both had the same presence. A quiet understanding, a feeling of power restrained by compassion, and even a similar emotional conflict, both Vampires pitting their good-natured personality against the hunger and darkness of the Vampiric curse.  
  
Daedalus, meanwhile, was uncertain what to make of Raziel's tale. He spoke of different dimensions, powers and beings that Daedalus had never heard of. As a high-ranking member of the Nosferatu clan, Daedalus had access to much information on even the most exotic and mysterious of subjects, from the Assamites to the Baali, the Technocracy and even a little on Arcadia. He had never heard of anything like Nosgoth.  
  
Daedalus sensed no sign of deception from Raziel. Of course, there was always the possibility that the horrific injuries that Raziel lived with had deranged the soul-eating Vampire, but that still left much to be explained, not least the bizzare powers that he and Kain had demonstrated.  
  
Daedalus had asked about the glowing sword that Raziel had manifested. Raziel had called it the Soul Reaver, but refused to comment any more on it. Daedalus sensed despair and deep worry from Raziel, but could come up with no reason why Raziel should fear his own weapon so much.  
  
One thing that Raziel had been very vocal on was his hatred of a man called Moebius. From what he could make out of Raziel's hate-filled rants, Moebius was a mage of some sort, one who specialised in time-related magic. He had been involved in the death of Raziel's friend, a Vampire called Janos, but Raziel's description of the event made little sense. He had spoken of how he had been tricked into leading himself into Janos' sanctuary, how his other self had killed Janos, and then how he'd killed and renounced himself. Daedalus wasn't sure what to make of Raziel's tale.  
  
"I think you'd better leave, Daedalus." Raziel suddenly said. "Kain may come back soon, and it wouldn't be good for you to have him find you here."  
  
"I understand. Raziel...you do know that I must tell my Prince what I have learned here."  
  
Raziel nodded. "Yes. But tell Luna not to let Kain know what you have learned. It might anger him, and Kain is...difficult when angry."  
  
"Thank you." Daedalus got up, but before he could disappear, he turned and asked Raziel one more question."Raziel? Is your Caine the same Caine of legend? The one who created the Clans?"  
  
Raziel looked suprised. "I...suppose you could say that. He is legendary in Nosgoth, and he did create my Clan, and the others. But I can't see how you would know him here in Mirth."  
  
Daedalus smiled a little. "Earth. Thank you, Raziel. I hope we can talk again."  
  
***  
  
The Haven was bustling tonight. On the stage, a young woman was singing a song about a place called New Orleans, and Kain saw various people chatting and drinking. There were Vampires here, several with glasses of blood that had been treated somehow to visually resemble red wine. Kain mingled with the crowd, getting some appreciative looks from the ladies milling around. Kain had long since realised that his Beguile form radiated an aura of attractiveness, but it had been centuries since he had received such attention - in the wasteland of Nosgoth's future, the Vampire and human females that he commanded were too awed to leer at him, and the human women who weren't under his command generally reacted by screaming in fear for a moment or two before dying of extensive blood loss.  
  
One woman, a Vampire, approached him. "Welcome stranger. I don't recall seeing your face in my Haven before."  
  
Kain bowed slightly. "Perhaps you merely have not noticed me until now."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure I would have noticed a Vampire as handsome as yourself."  
  
Kain suppressed a flinch. "Vampire?"  
  
The woman laughed. "Your aura is hard to read, but I like to think of myself as a master of Auspex. Or a mistress, you might say."  
  
The woman laughed lightly. Kain felt himself smile back, his usual caution slipping. A part of himself warned him against letting his guard down, but the woman was so alluring. Still, he kept from getting too comfortable. The woman might still see his Beguile form rather than his true form, but she was powerful enough to sense that he was a Vampire, not a human. In all of Kain's existence, no one had ever defeated the Beguile form even this much.  
  
"I am impressed by your skill, ma'am."  
  
"Ma'am? You are the polite one! I am Lillie." Lillie offered her hand. Fortunately for Kain, Nosgoth had a similar custom to this old-fashioned Earth one, and he lightly kissed Lillie's hand.  
  
"Charmed, I'm sure." Kain quickly searched his mind for a name, sure that this perceptive a Vampire would have heard the name of Kain by now. "I am called...Magnus."  
  
"The pleasure is mine. Won't you sit with me?"  
  
"I would be honoured."  
  
Kain followed Lillie to a table at the back of the club, sitting opposite her and accepting a glass of treated blood from a waitress.  
  
"Tell me about yourself, Magnus. I haven't heard of you before, so I assume you came here to present yourself to the Prince?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, I have."  
  
"I thought as much. Which Clan would you be?"  
  
Kain found himself frantically searching through his mind again. The first Vampires he had seen in this world, what Clan had they claimed to represent? "I am of Clan Brujah."  
  
Lillie nodded. "I see. I should warn you that the Prince has a small grudge against members of your Clan. I'd recommend that you watch your step, at least at first."  
  
"I shall endevour to do so. The Prince, tell me about him. Is he a hard man to deal with?"  
  
"Julian? He's a fair Vampire. Harsh if you get on his wrong side, but follow the rules and keep the Masquerade, and you and he will get on just fine."  
  
"Thank you for the advice."  
  
"My pleasure. Well, speak of the devil..."  
  
Kain turned to see three of Vampires approach the table. One was Cash, and the second was one of Cash's Gangrel, if Kain remembered correctly. He did not recognise the Vampire leading, though.  
  
"Lillie? We have a guest?"  
  
Lillie nodded. "This is Magnus. He's just entered the city and hoped to present himself to you." She turned to Kain. "Magnus, this is the Prince. Julian Luna."  
  
Kain stood up, bowing, and quickly sizing up the Prince. "An honour, sir."  
  
Julian nodded. "Thank you. Forgive me, but there is a situation occuring in my city."  
  
"Yes...I have heard a few rumours."  
  
"Then I hope you'll understand that I must delay your presentation."  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
"If you would be good enough to breurn in two nights, I can meet you then. In the meantime..." Julian indicated towards Lillie.  
  
"Then I will return in two nights. I look forward to our meeting." Kain turned to Lillie. "I enjoyed meeting you."  
  
Lillie smiled. "So did I."  
  
Kain walked off, leaving Luna to talk with Lillie probably about the same rumours Kain had mentioned. The ones concerning him. But Kain had learned enough. He was far from fearful about the Prince. In fact, he was amazed that such a weak Vampire could ever gain such a powerful position. Unless there was more to this Vampire than met the eye.  
  
***  
  
As Kain left the Haven, a small group of Vampires were watching the building.  
  
"That the place?"  
  
"Yeah. That's their stinking 'Elysium'." The dusky voice chuckled. "I hear there's some big-ass meeting going on tommorrow night. Whatcha think, guys? Reckon we should storm it?"  
  
Several cheers went up. One voice turned into a question.  
  
"Hey, Cass? What happened to the first pack?"  
  
"Dunno. Must have been caught."  
  
"Then they'll know we're here?"  
  
Cass span to face the smaller Vampire, her eyes glinting in the moonlight. "You getting scared on me?"  
  
"Hell no! Just mean this'll actually be a challenge!"  
  
Cass laughed. "True. But the Sabbat chews up challenges like this for breakfast!" 


	6. Chapter 6

"Raziel? I'm back...what the HELL?!"  
  
Kain had walked into the warehouse to find a charred mess. The fire had been put out somehow by Raziel before it could damage the structure of the building too much, but a large area of the floor and one wall had been scorched black, and many of the crates and their contents were now piles of steaming ash and rubble. Kain grabbed Raziel by the throat.  
  
"What in Nosgoth's name have you been doing, Raziel?!"  
  
Raziel kicked out of Kain's grip and flipped backwards, landing in a crouch. "Experimenting."  
  
"Experimenting? With what? How long it will take for you to burn this place down?"  
  
"With the Reaver."  
  
Raziel called up the Reaver, which now burned with a powerful but controlled fire. Kain momentarily forgot his anger.  
  
"You ignited the Reaver...but how? There are no elemental fonts here, are there?"  
  
"No. I used an actual fire."  
  
Kain glowered. "You set a fire in here. And lost control of it, I see."  
  
"For a moment."  
  
"Raziel..."  
  
"Don't try to lecture me, Kain. You do not control me any more. Despite all you've said about destiny and time, I have free will, and I will relinquish it to no one. You least of all."  
  
Kain growled, then chuckled. "As you say. And of your Reaver's other elemental forms?"  
  
"There is a human-made lamp in here that shines with a light that has a resemblance to sunlight. I was able to use it in a similar way to the fire, to imbue the Reaver with light. The shadows here failed to activate the Dark Reaver, possibly because they are too thin or lack any magical quality. I have not thought of a way to activate the Air Reaver."  
  
"A useful experiment then, if also a reckless one."  
  
"And what of your travels?"  
  
"I infiltrated the place Luna intends to meet us tomorrow night. A gathering place called the Haven. I also saw Luna himself. For a Vampire that commands respect, he seems extremely weak. I can only assume that he hides his true power, judging by the amount of enemies I believe him to have."  
  
"Enemies?"  
  
"The Brujah Clan, apparently. Also a group of Vampires calling themselves the Sabbat. And two other Vampires who believed they were following me without my knowledge. From what I heard from them, I don't believe Luna knows them to be in this city."  
  
"What now, then?"  
  
"We pass the time until Luna sends for us."  
  
***  
  
Luna rubbed his temple as Daedalus finished his report. "Another world?"  
  
"That is what Raziel says."  
  
"At this point, Daedalus, I really am hoping that Raziel is as deluded as he sounds. I don't know what would be worse - a pair of super-powered Vampires from another world or a pair of super-powered Vampires who are insane."  
  
"Raziel does not strike me as insane, Julian. Tormented, but not deluded. In fact, once we started to talk, I found him suprisingly reasonable."  
  
"Do you think Caine will be as reasonable?"  
  
"I'm afraid not. Raziel describes Caine as vengeful, dangerous and quite unpredictable. He recommended that we do not let Caine know that I had that talk with him."  
  
"I'll agree with him there. Does this Caine really think he's the Caine of legend?"  
  
Daedalus shrugged. "I told Raziel the basics of the story of Caine. Raziel didn't believe that his Caine and ours could be the same one. On the other hand, there are apparently some parallels. His Caine created the Clans, like ours is supposed to have. Raziel told me about his Caine warring with the world, virtually destroying it as he conquered it. At a basic level, it has a resemblance to our tales of Gehenna, at least in some respects."  
  
"I'd rather avoid Gehenna, if it's all the same to our guest. Very well. I'll get all the security we have in the Haven tomorrow. Seeing as you and Raziel are on such good terms, you can talk to him in the basement - I don't want him scaring the humans. If Caine can make himself look human, then we'll meet in the main part of the Haven. Hopefully, you can get some more information out of Raziel in case Caine proves to be difficult. Have some Nosferatu hidden throughout the Haven, just in case."  
  
***  
  
Alisha Tenor looked down at the mangled corpse at her feet. "Damn."  
  
The corpse had looked mangled even before Avid had delivered its Final Death. It had been a Nosferatu, after all. But the Nosferatu were unlikely to miss the fact that one of their number had disappeared. If they didn't work quickly, the Tremere were likely to be discovered before they could infiltrate the meeting betweent Luna and the Caine Vampire.  
  
Avid snarled. "Blasted Sewer Rat. If only they would stop poking their deformed noses where they don't belong..."  
  
"What do we do?"  
  
Avid thought for a moment. "Mess up the building. Grafitti, bloodstains, a little fire damage. We'll make it look like the Sabbat."  
  
"The Sabbat? If Luna thinks that the Sabbat's in his city, his security in Elysium will sky-rocket!"  
  
"It can't be helped. At least he'll be chasing phantoms instead of us. We don't exactly fit the typical Sabbat description. You'd better pull a couple of humans from the street too. A few bodies will make the ploy more convincing."  
  
"Very well. Let's hope that the Prince is too busy chasing non-existant Sabbat to bother us."  
  
***  
  
Less than a mile away, in a derelict basketball court, the very-existant Sabbat pack were playing a game of chase with a terrified human. They'd been amusing themselves for several hours, making sure they didn't do anything that would give away their presence just yet. Lola was eventually declared the winner of this game when the human failed to stop in time after seeing her jump in front of him. The impact broke the mortal's neck.  
  
"I am so BORED!" Franklin groaned. "When are we going to see some action?"  
  
"I told you - tomorrow night." Cass snapped. "Now stop whining."  
  
"Hey Cass?" Lola asked, wiping her jacket where the very recently-deceased man had crashed into it. "What do you think happened to the first pack? I know you said they must have gotten caught, but if they had, the city'd be up in arms. So far, we've seen nothing."  
  
"Maybe they got lost on the way. How should I know?" the Lasombra said irritably. "Who do I look like, the Memory Girl? Just keep your heads down for tonight, and tomorrow night we can kick some Camarilla ass!"  
  
Franklin shrugged. "Fine, whatever. And where the hell's Fran? She should have been back by now."  
  
A hideous apparition came from out of the shadows. "I've been here a while, hon. Just been laughing at all the bickering going on."  
  
"Spying on me?" Franklin leered evilly.  
  
"Oh, of course. My life, my love..."  
  
"OK, children, let's cut the romance parody. Francesca?"  
  
Francesca shrugged. "Nothing much making sense, boss. The whole city's buzzing with some wierd-ass rumours. The big one's that Caine's here."  
  
Cass chuckled. "Caine?! Of course he is. He's probably setting up a burger bar, right next to Lillith's clothes store. Did you hear any rumours that are more credible than the ramblings of a compulsive liar?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, of course it's not Caine, but the word is that there are two damned powerful stiffs walking the streets right now. They kicked the collective ass of Luna's personal troop of kiss-ass Gangrel, including the almighty Primogen himself!"  
  
Lola whistled. "They sound like my kind of guys! Maybe I can take them on a threesome in a graveyard..."  
  
Fran shook her head. "Dunno about that. Caine-wannabe's paving the streets with the mutilated bodies of half the Vamps he comes across. Dunno about the other one's deal, but I hear he's one ugly bastard. Makes us Nossies look like primadonnas!" Fran fell silent, a troubled look appearing on her ruined face. "There's something I gotta tell you."  
  
"What?"  
  
Fran held out a small object, a silver ring finely engraved with the symbol of a snake eating its own tail. Cass swore.  
  
"That's Ulrich's ring! Where did you find that?"  
  
Fran shifted uncomfortably. "On his finger. After I found his body."  
  
"Ulrich's dead?"  
  
"Yeah. Someone'd ripped out his heart and drained him dry."  
  
"And his pack."  
  
"They were there. One big pool of slime. All that's left of them. All gone."  
  
Cass was silent for a moment, then slammed a fist into a convinient wall.  
  
"Son of a BITCH! Right guys, you wanted action? We'll give them all the action they can handle! Tomorrow, we're going to burn down that Elysium they're so proud of and leave behind so many bodies they'll be making this whole city one giant graveyard!"  
  
***  
  
Less than an hour before sunrise, Kain left the warehouse. Raziel didn't appreciate being left behind so frequently, but couldn't deny Kain's point that there was nothing to gain from Raziel sending waves of panic and hostility through the human populace. Kain wanted to learn as much about the world he'd found himself in as possible before the meeting with Luna. Though he'd never admit it even to himself, he also wanted to put a little distance between himself and Raziel's experiments with the Reaver. If Raziel ended up burning half the city to the ground while powering up the blade, Kain would rather be in the other half at the time.  
  
Kain stopped at the edge of what was either an ocean or a huge river. He leant against the railings, and considered the position he'd been forced into. He hated to lose control of his existence, but that is exactly what had happened to him now. He desperately wanted to return to Nosgoth, if only to kill that snake Moebius. Again.  
  
"You there!"  
  
Kain turned around. The man who had called to him was a human, one Kain found familiar. After a moment, Kain recognised him. It was one of the law enforcers, "Police" they were called, he had asked directions from earlier.  
  
"You're taking a chance here, aren't you?"  
  
Kain glowered at the mortal. "My business is my own."  
  
The man flashed a badge. "Detective Frank Kohanek. I know all about you Vampires."  
  
Kain shrugged. "Good for you. Then you will know it is unwise to antagonise me like this."  
  
Frank folded his arms. "I guess I'm not as smart as I look. I gather you're new in town."  
  
Kain said nothing.  
  
"Fine, the quiet type. I'm just warning you. I don't like Vampires in general, but I really hate the type that go on mad killing sprees. You'd better not be that type, Mr..."  
  
"Kain, if you truly wish to know."  
  
Frank froze. To Kain's amusement, a little fear entered his eyes. With a speed impressive for a human, Frank had his phosphorus gun pulled from his bag and pointed towards Kain.  
  
"Has my name offended you, mortal?" Kain quipped.  
  
"Caine...oh, I've been told about you. You've got all the bloodsuckers here falling over their butts in panic. And I've heard all about your rampage down at the warehou..."  
  
With speed that a master of the Celerity Discipline would sell his soul for, Kain had grabbed the gun, thown it in the sea, and slammed Frank almost through a wall several metres away. Frank staggered forwards, his back and head screaming in pain. Kain punched him once, sending Frank to the floor, the world spinning and fading.  
  
A vice-like grip on his throat brought Frank back into a concious, if painful, state. Kain lifted him up, bringing him right up to his angry eyes.  
  
"You are close to seeing one of these rampages in person, mortal! Now listen very carefully. I have little patience at the best of times, and the last few weeks have been very trying. You are a very lucky human, because I had fed my fill before you decided to bother me. Now, to celebrate your fortune, I am going to let you walk as fast as your fragile body can carry you back to Luna, or to whoever you answer to, and spread the word that I am a dangerous, powerful, and above all angry enemy to make. Your other choice is to be scattered into the four winds. I trust I make myself clear?"  
  
Kain dropped Frank to the ground. Frank gasped for breath, then backed away from Kain. As soon as Kain was out of sight, he dashed for his car then started to make his way to a phone. Whether it was Sonny or Luna he got to first, one of them was going to tell him just what this Caine monster was.  
  
***  
  
A few miles away, a Toreador was feeding on a girl he'd met in a club. The girl was quite drunk, very beautiful, and had fallen prey to the Toreador's charms easily enough. The Vampire had learned that the girl was a writer, and a pretty good one at that. Perhaps he'd keep an eye on her after this night. Talent, after all, was a terrible thing to waste.  
  
A moment later, the matter was made academic. There was a flash of lightning, and then a huge monstrosity towered over the human and the Vampire. It was bestial, with huge muscles, black fur, gleaming white horns, and eyes that seemed to burn with hellfire.  
  
The monster lunged, grabbing the Vampire with one hand and the human with the other. Revelling in the screams of its prey, it devoured the pair messily, smearing its mouth and the nearby walls with gore.  
  
~No more playing games! You have a job to do!~  
  
The voice wouldn't have been heard by the keenest of ears. It reached the mind of the monster from an immeasurable distance through the medium of telepathy. The monster growled a response.  
  
"I hear you, Lady Azimuth. And I promise you that neither the fallen Guardian nor the Reaver of Souls shall leave this world alive!" 


	7. Chapter 7

Sonny tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of his chair. Sunset was less than a minute away, and he wanted to get this night over with. He didn't often feed heavily on humans, but he'd spent several hours the night before stocking up on blood, just in case Caine decided to get hostile. Waiting for the action was almost as bad, though. A dreadful anticipation was filling him. He had a feeling that surviving the upcoming night would be an achievment in itself.  
  
A frantic hammering at his front door broke Sonny from his thoughts. Grabbing his phosphorus gun, even though there remained the last of the daylight in the sky, he opened his door carefully, only to have Frank barge in, rambling and ranting.  
  
"Sonny! Where the hell have you been? I met him! He had me by the..."  
  
"Frank! Frank, calm down! What's wrong!"  
  
Frank shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "I met him, Sonny."  
  
"Who, Frank?"  
  
"Caine! Who'd you think?!"  
  
Sonny's eyes shot open. His mortal partner had run into Caine and survived? "What happened?"  
  
"He's a damn monster! One sec I was pointing my gun at him, the next I'm in a heap on the floor! I've never seen one of you guys move so fast!"  
  
"What did he do?"  
  
"Beat the crap out of me, that's what!" Frank pulled up his top, revealing some very ugly bruises. "I got the impression that he could have done a lot worse, but he told me to go see Luna and warn him not to cross him."  
  
"Great." Sonny sighed. "Look, Frank. Maybe it's not such a good idea for you to come tonight..."  
  
"No way, Sonny. If this creep starts tearing up the city, I want to be there to stop him. Even if he'd brush me away like a fly, I at least want to try!"  
  
"Alright. Julian said you could be there, so you'll be there. But for crying out loud, don't go running up to Caine! We don't need him blasting you into pieces."  
  
Frank nodded. "Trust me, that's one thing I'm dead clear on."  
  
***  
  
Some distance away, Cameron was walking out of his home with his group of personal bodyguards. Normally, his entourage would have followed him in silence, but there was an air of unease tonight. Cameron couldn't really say he was suprised. He wasn't all that happy about the situation himself.  
  
"So what are we going to do, sir?" One guard asked about Caine.  
  
"Look, I know that if any normal Cainite killed a couple of our guys we'd be dancing on his grave right now. But this isn't a normal Vampire. Screw the vengeance factor. We do whatever we can to get Caine out of our city and our lives. If Luna can talk the guy away, more power to him. If, and only if, it comes down to a fight, then we pile in on him with everything we've got. Got it?"  
  
"Got it."  
  
"Good. Come on, let's get going. I'll feel better on the streets when those two monsters are just a memory."  
  
Following the lead of their primogen, the guards turned into a side alley that would lead to the back of the Haven.  
  
***  
  
Two hours later, Kain and Raziel were seated in the back of a limo with a small gang of Gangrel and Ventrue eyeing them suspiciously. Kain had adopted a human disguise, though Raziel of course remained in his disfigured state. Raziel had to admit to himself that he was jealous. There was very little he wouldn't exchange for the ability to appear in another form, human of Vampire. He looked sadly down at the remains of his body. Even knowing what he knew know, he still resented Kain's decision to have him cast into that watery hell. Surely Kain could have achieved his goals and left Raziel intact? Of course, Kain wasn't really the most sympathetic being that had ever lived. If it had been the best chocie from his point of view, he'd have had little trouble in his decision to execute Raziel.  
  
Kain's thoughts were on the situation at hand. Though this was his best chance to return to Nosgoth, there was no guarantee that Luna had the capabilities to do such a thing. And even if he did, Kain would have to force the Prince to send him. He wondered just what Azimuth and Moebius had intended when sending him to this world. Did they believe they'd seen the last of Kain, or were they setting up defences to block a possible return?  
  
Kain suddenly sat bolt upright. The Vampires all pulled out their weapons and pointed them at him, but Kain wasn't paying them any attention. He was staring out the window at the city.  
  
"Kain? What is it?"  
  
Kain stared at the night sky. 'What was that? I felt...something...' Sinking back into his seat, Kain simply said "Be wary, Raziel.", leaving a confused Reaver of Souls and some near-frantic Vampires.  
  
Twenty minutes later, the limo arrived at the front of the Haven. Kain adopted a Disguise. It wasn't the Beguile spell he had used to scout the Haven before - he wasn't prepared to to reveal that he was "Magnus", at least not yet. Instead he assumed a simple visual disguise, one that would fool most humans, though Vampires would sense his true nature with little problem.  
  
Cash was waiting to guide Kain into the Haven. However, he first looked towards Raziel.  
  
"My Prince requests that your servant stays in the cellar with the Nosferatu Primogen, Caine. The Masquerade, you understand."  
  
Raziel growled angrily. Kain smirked.  
  
"Well, my faithful servant? You heard the man."  
  
Raziel followed a waiting Gangrel towards a secluded entrance to the lower floor of the building, muttering several choice curses aimed at Kain, Cash, and life in general. Cash nodded, and led Kain inside.  
  
***  
  
Luna looked at the Vampire who called himself Caine. Visually, he looked like a typical human, maybe even less than that. But Luna's reign as Prince wouldn't have lasted a week if he relied on surface impressions. His senses told him that Kain was hiding his true nature, and if he was correct, deliberately not doing a great job of it. Luna couldn't imagine why, but from what he knew of the monster's nature, he guessed Caine was taunting him.  
  
The meeting did not go unnoticed. Luna knew that Sonny and Frank were present, and hoped to hell that Frank didn't do anything stupid with Caine around. However, he didn't notice two other figures watching from a table near the back of the club. Avid and Tenor just sat there, waiting for something to happen.  
  
Luna kept up the polite but firm appearance that the Ventrue did so well. He and Cash took Caine to the Council Chamber, where Luna tried to introduce the Primogens.  
  
"You already know Cash. This is the Toreador Prim..."  
  
"Lillie, I know. May we dispense with the introductions and move on to more pressing business?"  
  
Neither Lillie nor Luna flinched at this, but inside, both were alarmed at Caine's comment. How did Caine know who Lillie was? Had he somehow already infiltrated the Haven before the meeting, or could he simply read minds? Neither option seemed particularly welcoming.  
  
While Caine enjoyed Lillie's hidden discomfort, Luna whispered to Cash in a voice so quiet that even the Gangrel's incredible hearing could only just pick it up.  
  
"Where the hell is Cameron?"  
  
As if summoned, Cameron strode into the chamber. Luna gave him a dark look, but decided to wait another time to have yet another argument with the Brujah Primogen. The Vampires sat at the table.  
  
"Very well, Caine." Luna said. "As you wish to attend to business, we'll come to the point. Why are you in my city?"  
  
"Circumstance."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"I would appreciate a little more detail."  
  
"I'm sure you would."  
  
Luna forced his fist to unclench. Though he'd only met Caine minutes before, the over-powered newcomer was already starting to annoy him. "And those details would be..?"  
  
"My business."  
  
"Fine. Perhaps you'll be more forthcoming to this question - what is it you want?"  
  
***  
  
At the back of the Haven, the Sabbat Vampires were hiding, waiting for their distraction eagerly.  
  
"How long?"  
  
"Geez, give the bloodbag a minute! He's only human, y'know!"  
  
Franklin grinned. "Yeah, so he's probably got lost, the sucker!"  
  
Lola shook her head. "No way. After that half hour with me, there's no way in hell he'd get anything I said worng. If I told him to, he'd grow wings and ly now!"  
  
Cass smiled. "No doubt. Get ready, people. We're going to have some fun tonight!"  
  
***  
  
Raziel paced around in the cellar as Daedalus watched him from his chair. The Nosferatu noted that Raziel seemed impatient and angry in a superficial way. Most likely he wanted to know how the meeting was going, a feeling that Daedalus could sympathise with.  
  
"Tell me, Raziel. Is Caine the sort of Vampire who dances around his subject, or does he come straight to the point?"  
  
"Both. He can demand straight and short statements, or he can stretch a conversation with a limitless torrent of metaphor and digression. It truly depends on his whim at the time."  
  
"You make Caine sound somewhat unstable."  
  
"An understatement. He is a resounding pessimist, yet he gambles on the remotest of odds."  
  
"He seeks passage back to this Nosgoth, so you say. What is his reaction likely to be when he discovers that my Prince can not provide him with this?"  
  
"I'm sure Kain suspects that Luna lacks the ability to send us home. He has been less than impressed by the Vampires in his employ to date. But he will try to make Luna point the way to those with such power. If your Prince can not or will not do this, Kain's next action is impossible to predict. But it is unlikely to be to your benefit. He would think nothing of slaughtering every Vampire in the city if he thought it would bring him..."  
  
At that moment, there was a loud crash from upstairs, and the sounds of people shouting and fighting.  
  
"Oh damn." said Daedalus.  
  
Raziel sighed. "I get the feeling the meeting has concluded.  
  
***  
  
Only moments before, Luna had been verbally sparring with Caine. The other Primogens had been patiently watching the scene, and warily waiting for a sign of aggression from Caine.  
  
Cameron slowly drew the phosphorus pistol from his hip pocket. Kain's guard was down. A shot with this weapon now, followed by a quick shot to the head. Kain would be crippled, and easy pickings for...  
  
This was the moment that the building was rocked by the crash. All the Vampires were immediately on their feet.  
  
"CAINE!!!" Luna roared. "What have you done?!"  
  
Caine glowered. "This is not my doing, Luna! Those weapon shots sound like your people's weapons, not my own or Raziel's!"  
  
Luna paused. He could here gunshots, true. But if not Caine, then what was happening? "Come on, we'd better find out what on Earth is happening!"  
  
Luna fled out of the room, followed by the Primogens and Caine. Cameron paused for a moment.  
  
"Interesting." he said in a dark, ugly voice. "Perhaps my chance has arrived..."  
  
***  
  
In the main club area, Sonny and Frank had taken cover behind a fallen table with two other Vampires, and were attempting to take down the attackers. A fair amount of the security that Luna had insisted on had already fallen. The crash had been a van smashing through the front entrance of the Haven. Everyone present had started towards the van, weapons drawn. But the van was only driven by a lone human, probably dominated, and definately killed by the impact. The real attack had come a moment later. A group of Vampires had burst in from the back. The first round of fire had decimated the gathering, and the club quickly became a battleground.  
  
"Who is it, Sonny?" Frank yelled. "Caine?!"  
  
"No! I don't believe this...it's the freaking Sabbat!"  
  
"Who?!"  
  
"Psychos! I'll tell you later! Right now, just shoot!"  
  
Avid barely ducked a phosphorus shot. "There really are Sabbat in the city? This place really has gone to hell..."  
  
Sonny glared at Avid. "Sorry to ruin your vacation, whoever you are! Perhaps you'd prefer it in Lupine country!"  
  
The table was suddenly split in two by a bizzare attack, like a solid shadow.  
  
"Dammit! Lasombra!"  
  
Frank felt a sudden vice-like grip around his throat as the thing caught him. For what seemed like the fourth time this month, his life flashed before his eyes. Then there was a bright flash of light. The pain disappeared, and he found himself on all fours, his saviour a decrepit- looking creature with a large glowing sword coming out of his arm.  
  
"Wh...what the hell...?"  
  
"Stay down, human!" Raziel yelled. He fired a projectile from the Light Reaver which momentarily cleared the area. He was suddenly joined by Luna and Kain.  
  
"Raziel! What happened here?"  
  
"I thought it was you, Kain! Are you saying that chaos breaks loose and it ISN'T your fault?"  
  
Luna fired at a leering Nosferatu on the other side of the floor. "It's the Sabbat! A group of..."  
  
"The Sabbat? Again?" Kain chuckled. "They should have learned their lesson before."  
  
In all the chaos, Kain did not sense someone creeping up on him until the first shot slammed into the small of his back. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the pain and span around. He saw Cameron with a phosphorus pistol pointing at him. But the Brujah didn't get a chance to fire again. As Kain had sunk to one knee, a bullet whizzed over his head and into Cameron's hand. Cameron barely flinched, didn't even drop the gun, but it was all Kain needed to jump to action.  
  
"VAE VICTUS!" With the battle-cry dating back to his human years, Kain leaped forward and thrust a claw into Cameron's heart, then pulled the organ out. Not even bothering to watch Cameron die, Kain turned and grabbed Luna by the throat.  
  
"Did you think you could set ME up, Luna?!"  
  
Luna gasped. "This wasn't me! I...what the..?"  
  
The pandemonium ceased in an instant. All eyes were on Cameron's body. It wasn't falling to the floor as it should have been. Instead, it was clawing, spasming...transforming. In a few seconds, it resembled neither a human nor a Vampire. It was twice as tall as the tallest person in the club, horned and black-furred.  
  
"A Demon?" Raziel cried. "Here?"  
  
"Not just a Demon, Raziel." Kain muttered.  
  
The Demon laughed. "I have never met you in person before, Kain, but I know you recognise me. You have Moebius to thank. He showed me a vision of my future, and offered me some pre-emptive revenge."  
  
Kain growled. Raziel had rarely seen him appear so angry. "You are either brave or insane to face me like this. If you have seen your future, you know that I am your end as a mere fledgling. Surely you harbour no illusion of defeating me now, when I am so much stronger?"  
  
"In the most important respect, you have not changed a bit, Kain. You still fail to see the bigger picture. You are a pawn, as I will tell you in your past. And a pawn's fate is to be sacrificed."  
  
"Then come and make your move!"  
  
The Demon laughed. "I shall...when I am ready!" With that, he vansihed into thin air.  
  
"Raziel!" Kain urged. "Follow him, quickly!"  
  
Raziel disappeared into the Spectral Plane. When he returned barely a second later, you could be forgiven for thinking that some unseen force had repelled him. Kain knew that time was much different in Raziel's natural plane, though, and didn't question it.  
  
"The Demon has eluded me, Kain."  
  
"Damn."  
  
Luna stood eye-to-eye with Kain. "Alright, Caine. I want answers. Who the HELL was that?"  
  
"You recognised him." Raziel pointed out. "And he mentioned Moebius."  
  
"Yes..." Kain sighed. "An earlier version of an old enemy of mine, shown his fate by Moebius - like Moebius, to die at my hands. And just as Moebius intends, he wants to take revenge on me for his future demise."  
  
"Who is he, Kain? In the centuries I have known you, you have never mentioned him."  
  
Kain looked right at Raziel. "His name is Hash'Ak'Gik, Raziel, and it was he who corrupted the Pillars of Nosgoth." 


	8. Chapter 8

In an old industrial yard, a Gangrel leaned against a shed wall. He enjoyed the solitude of the area, a place no one ever came to during the night these days. The other Vampires could keep their Elysiums and their cotories. All he needed was a night's feeding and the stars above his head.  
  
"It's a cold night to be alone."  
  
Leland was suddenly alert, all his senses searching the yard for the intruder. In the shadows across the yard, he made out an outline of a Vampire from the direction of the voice, but it made no sense. It was a female Vampire, but the voice had sounded male.  
  
"No greeting for a fellow traveller, Vampire?"  
  
Now the voice was female. The intruder stepped from the shadows into the moonlight. It was a Vampire he recognised.  
  
"You? What are you doing here?"  
  
Leland ducked as an attack came from behind. The attacker, a Nosferatu, sailed over his head. Leland was back up in a moment, but in that moment the girl's hand was fast around his neck.  
  
"Come play my game, young one."  
  
***  
  
For the first time in decades, Julian Luna wished he could stay in his slumber past dusk. He was normally an early riser, sometimes rising before sunset. But the recent events were starting to get to him. He'd almost hoped that on waking this night, he'd find that all the events with Caine, Raziel, the Sabbat and this demonic creature that had taken over Cameron's body had all been just some bad dream. He was disappointed.  
  
Caine had refused to answer any questions on the demon, and had left right away to try and hunt the creature out. Raziel had been a little more helpful, thanks mainly to his friendship with Daedalus, a relationship that Luna was still unsure how he felt about. Raziel had mentioned fighting demons before, and that the black demons like Hazzak-Kit (or whatever unpronouncable name Caine had used) were the strongest type he'd encountered, much to Luna's dismay. Lillie had asked about the Pillars that Caine had mentioned, which was answered by a long tale that had, to be honest, confused the hell out of Luna. He had gathered the Pillars were some kind of monument built by a Vampire called Janos and some of his friends. Then came the confusing bit where a Sorceress named Ariel was killed, driving her lover Nupraptor mad and causing the Pillars to crumble...somehow. Apparently, Caine was tied into this event somehow, but the link remained a mystery as Raziel had started to rant on about some human called Moebius. Julian wasn't clear about what Moebius had done, but it was apparently bad enough to warrant a lot of old-fashioned profanity and several gory death descriptions from Raziel. Eventually, Daedalus had calmed the ruined being down, and Raziel had made his exit. Julian had hoped that the night would hold no more nasty suprises. He was wrong.  
  
Those two unknown Vampires that had ended up with Frank and Sonny during the Sabbat attack. They'd slipped out at about the same time as Raziel, but the male had had his jacket shredded during the fight. Cash had checked the remains for signs of Sabbat involvment. Instead, he found scraps of a letter that bore the mark of the Tremere. This discovery, piled on top of everything else, had very nearly caused Luna to frenzy.  
  
Caine! Demons! Sabbat! Tremere! And all in the space of a week! And that wasn't to mention the likely reaction of the Brujah Clan when they discovered that they'd lost two Primogens in less than six months. Things had been bad when Fiori had been killed by Lillie after the Assamite incident had Fiori's attempt on Luna's life. Now Cameron, for whom Luna's hatred had been well-known, was dead as well. The way Luna's luck was holding, the Brujah would probably hold him responsible for this. And his own Ventrue Clan still had to replace Archon as Primogen. Julian couldn't imagine what else could go wrong at this point.  
  
"Julian!" Cash burst into the room.  
  
"Please tell me you have some good news, Cash."  
  
Cash flinched. "It's about the Brujah. They're fighting for the Primogen position, and..."  
  
Cash was acting oddly, as if unsure whether to be frantic or nervous.  
  
"And?"  
  
"And the most likely candidate seems to be...Sasha."  
  
Julian Luna was renowned for his calm exterior and total control over himself, even by other Ventrue. All that control now fled away as fast as his jaw could drop.  
  
"Sa...SASHA?!"  
  
Cash nodded, clearly as unhappy about the news as Julian was. The Prince groaned and rubbed his temple. He was starting to appreciate the old saying "hitting rock bottom".  
  
***  
  
"Well that was a disaster!" Tenor groaned as she and her companion finally made it back to their haven. They hadn't made it back the previous night, and had ended up camped in the basement of a block of flats. By some good fortune, they had been undisturbed during the day, and had managed to slip out unnoticed at sunset.  
  
Neither Tremere looked in good shape. Tenor had several bruises on her arm where she'd been hit with gunfire the night before. Avid still had some burn marks and ragged clothing for his part. More serious, though, was the matter of the letter which Avid had been forced to abandon at the Haven, which Avid had been intending to send to his superiors about the current situation. Hopefully it had been destroyed, but if Luna found enough to identify the Tremere, Avid would prefer to be in another city very quickly.  
  
"Your planted evidence implicating the Sabbat in the Sewer Rat's death a few nights ago must have been very convincing." Tenor snapped. "So convincing that it actually conjured some damn Sabbat Vampires!"  
  
"And how was I supposed to know that the Sabbat actually had a presence in this city? Nothing before this mission even hinted at their presence here!"  
  
"Fine. Then how about explaining what the hell happened to the Brujah Primogen? Brujah don't regularly turn into huge monsters after having their heart ripped out! Even the Tzimisce would find that a tough trick!"  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
"Is that what you're going to put in your report? 'A bunch of insane stuff happened, but I don't know anything about it'? That'll look..."  
  
Avid punched Tenor in the jaw hard enough to send her flying into the wall. "That's ENOUGH!"  
  
Tenor pulled herself up. "Ugh...t-temper, Avid..."  
  
Avid slumped onto the bed and sighed. One way or another, he had to find out what was going on in this city. He didn't relish having to go up against Luna, Caine, Raziel, or whatever this thing that had killed Cameron was, but he considered the alternative worse - facing his Tremere superiors without knowing the truth.  
  
***  
  
Kain paced around the room in impatience, not even bothering to activate his Disguise. He would much rather have been beating information out of Hash'ak'Gik than having to explain the situation to a bunch of unevolved (and, in his opinion, unintelligent) Vampires. Unfortunately, his search for Hash, during the remainder of that night and most of the following day, had been fruitless. It pained Kain to admit it, but he needed help from those who knew the territory better than he did.  
  
Raziel had watched as the situation between Kain and Luna had disintegrated. It had started as tense, with neither fond of dealing with the other. Luna had grown frustrated at dealing with Kain's superior air, and Kain had grown ever more angry at having to explain everything to Luna over again. At Raziel's prompting, Daedalus had suggested that he and his Nosferatu comrades start searching the city for Hash. Kain had calmed a little at this, but the tension had quickly returned when Luna demanded to know more about the Nosgothians. Kain had, as Raziel could have predicted, responded with scorn and sarcasm, and the two were engaged in a verbal sparring match that seemed more violent than some of the battles Raziel had had with the Sarafan in Nosgoth's past. Raziel had a bad feeling that if something didn't ease the situation, and quickly, he'd be treated to a battle between the two Vampires that would leave the neighbourhood in ruins.  
  
"While you are in my city, you will obey my rules." Luna said angrily.  
  
Kain snorted. "I don't recall pledging my allegiance to you, 'Prince' Luna."  
  
"Don't try my patience, Caine. It is not unlimited."  
  
"Don't make threats you don't have the power to back up, Luna. I have yet to see any sign of real power from you, or your Primogen for that matter. If I weren't so intent on returning to Nosgoth, I would be tempted to dethrone you just to show you how far below me you are."  
  
Luna had had enough. He looked the green-skinned monster square in the eye and started to speak, bringing all the powers of Domination he posessed into play. His voice, his eyes, his aura, everything about him demanded obediance. Humans would have dropped to their knees in a heartbeat, and the majority of Vampires would have found Luna's power almost impossible to resist.  
  
Kain flinched under Luna's gaze, and took a step back. Raziel was impressed. He never would have guessed that Luna had the power to break through Kain's defences this much. But at the same time, he didn't believe that Luna was strong enough to overpower Kain's mind.  
  
Suddenly, Kain's body seemed to flash a little, then stood still. Luna was the one to flinch now, as his powers flailed mentally, confused by whatever Kain had just done. And then, without warning, Cash was pointing his gun at Luna's head.  
  
"What...? Cash?" Luna gasped.  
  
Cash smirked. "Guess again, Luna."  
  
Lillie's eyes widened. "Caine? Is that you?"  
  
Cash-Kain laughed. "A little trick called the Spirit Wrack. One of my many powers." The posessed Gangrel glowered at Luna. "Powers that you will experience the full wrath of if you ever try your little mind games on me again, Luna!"  
  
Luna growled, but stood down. Cash sighed and looked around in confusement as Kain returned his mind to his own body.  
  
"How did you do that? Just like that demon..." Lillie whispered.  
  
"Hardly. That was just a spell to wear the body of another for a while. The Unspoken is like a parasite. He inhabits the body of his host, taking control when he needs to and allowing the host to carry on of their own free will at other times, unaware of his presence."  
  
"How do you purge the victim?"  
  
"I have only seen him in one previous host before your Brujah friend. A Necromancer called Mortanius. I killed Mortanius then, just as I killed Cameron last night. In both cases, Hash'ak'Gik manifested himself immediately afterwards. I would surmise that he is forced back into his original form on the death of his host."  
  
"So, you'd have an innocent person die to get at him?" Luna snapped.  
  
Kain sneered. "If a few must die for a greater purpose, then is the correct course of action not clear?"  
  
"Of course." Raziel whispered. "You killed me for a greater purpose, after all."  
  
Kain ignored the Reaver of Souls. "If your stomach is too weak, Luna, then I would suggest you step aside for those of us who aren't lacking in courage to do what must be done!" With that, Kain strode out of the room.  
  
"Well, that's just great!" Cash cried. "Has anyone considered that we don't even know where Hash is, never mind how to get rid of him?"  
  
"LUNA!" Kain's yell came from the corridor. Luna, Raziel, and the two Primogens rushed out to the corridor. There, they found Kain standing by a dead guard and a message written on the wall in blood stating "I'm watching you, Kain".  
  
"I would increase your security if you hope to sleep safely at day, Prince." Kain quipped.  
  
***  
  
Kain knelt on one knee, crouched on the roof of an old church. Only here did he allow himself to relax, if only a little. He would never admit any weakness, but despite his bluster earlier, Luna's probe into his mind had shaken the ancient Vampire. He hated to lose control, and control over his own self was one of the things he prized most of all. He was reminded of an event centuries ago, when a Vampire named Marcus had tried to take control of Kain's mind. Though the attempt had failed, Marcus had penetrated Kain's mental defences enough to read his thoughts, a concept that had disturbed Kain deeply. Thankfully, that same night, Marcus had died at Kain's hands. With that, combined with the power that had grown in Kain over thousands of years, Kain had thought such a threat to no longer apply to him.  
  
Unfortunately, Luna had just destroyed the attractive idea of mental invunerability. Kain had felt his control slip under Luna's power, and had only defeated the Prince's mental intrusion by suprising him with the Spirit Wrack spell on his Primogen. But even after all this time, a spell as powerful and complex as the Spirit Wrack took a lot of magical concentration. If Luna ever caught Kain at a weak moment, Kain wasn't sure that he could defeat Luna's power.  
  
Kain sighed. The Vampires here were very different. He'd taken their lack of obvious power as a sign of weakness. A mistake. The powers of these Vampires were much more subtle than those of Nosgoth, but Kain was starting to realise that they were quite potent in their own right.  
  
Kain's musings stopped instantly as he sensed that he was not alone. He span around to see a Nosferatu a few metres away, leering wickedly. Although that may just have been how his face was disfigured.  
  
"This roof is taken." Kain growled. "I suggest you return to the sewers that your Clan seems to prefer."  
  
"If I only could, but that option is now closed to this Vampire."  
  
Kain frowned, then decided to take the bait. "And why would that be?"  
  
"For a simple reason. I have my own quest, and the object of that quest is you, Kain. I told you I was watching you."  
  
Kain stood up and flexed a claw. "You tread carelessly, Unspoken. Did you not hear me when I warned you how superior I am to you? You could not beat the fledgling Kain. How do you propose to beat me now?"  
  
Hash-Nosferatu laughed. "I am not as foolish as you might believe, Kain. Perhaps you could defeat me. In fact, in mortal combat, you could probably best me. But there are other ways to fight, and by the time I choose to battle you, you will have already lost."  
  
"And if I was to kill you now? That would bring your game to a premature end."  
  
"Perhaps. Maybe you should find out for yourself." Hash-Nosferatu spread his arms out, as if presenting himself to be a target. "I will tell you one thing first, though. There are more than one. Many more."  
  
Kain said nothing. His body crackled with energy, and a blast of lightning suddenly shot from his hands, blasting clean through Hash-Nosferatu's chest. Kain readied himself, preparing to attack Hash'Ak'Gik when he manifested.  
  
To his suprise, Hash-Nosferatu simply fell onto his back. From his mouth, something that looked like a large, furry, black maggot crawled out, Kain blinked in suprise, then quickly squashed it under his boot.  
  
Moments passed in silence as Kain contemplated the event. He turned away from the corpse and looked out over the city.  
  
'So, that is his game. That was clearly not the real Dark Entity, yet I could feel his aura, his presence.' Kain thought. 'He is nothing to me one- on-one, but it would seem his is a game of psychological warfare. What was it he said? More than one? How many in this city have become hosts for these spawned creatures his infected this Vampire with? And out of all those infected, how do I find the real host before he finds my back?' 


	9. Interlude Daedalus' diary

***From the personal journal of Daedalus, Nosferatu Primogen of San Fransisco***  
  
A mystery is never a straight path. The clue are there, hidden between paths of deception and misdirection, but even when found, they never line up to form the answer. They must be pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle with a picture that you don't know in advance, one with no corners or edges you can use to guide yourself.  
  
Take three seperate events that occured in San Fransisco on the same night. On the surface, little would seem to link them.  
  
***  
  
In a newspaper office, Caitlin Byrne was working the late shift. For the last few days, she'd been concerned about her sort-of lover, and not- coincidentally her boss, one Julian Luna. Also the Cainite Prince of the city's Vampire population, but Miss Byrne wouldn't know about that, any more than she would know about the Nosferatu I've placed in her office, partly at Julian's request to guard Caitlin, but just as much to ensure that she doesn't do anything to break the Masquerade.  
  
Being the career-minded woman that she is, Caitlin took her mind off her personal troubles via her work. And on this night, a report came across her desk concerning an event that had occured a night or so before at the Haven. A ram-raid followed by gunfire, fighting, and...what? Eyewitnesses report some very strange goings on. A huge bestial figure that appeared from nowhere, and disappeared just as quickly. A mutilated corpse leaping about the place with a glowing sword of some kind. And killings made, not by bullets, but by inhuman claws.  
  
And what did Caitlin do? You'd be forgiven for imagining her rushing to the nearest phone, desperately trying to find out if her Julian had been hurt. Or maybe her professional curiosity got the better of her, and she'd start making her way to the Haven to investigate herself?  
  
But instead, she swept the report into the bin below her desk and picked up a report on traffic congestion.  
  
Strange behaviour, isn't it?  
  
***  
  
At the same time, about half a mile away, a young Brujah named Sasha, who also happens to be Prince Luna's great-great granddaughter as mortals would reckon, was walking through an alley towards where she'd parked her bike. Sasha happens to be in the running for the recently-vacated position of Brujah Primogen, a most suprising candidate. Unlikely too - she may be family of Julian Luna, but she wasn't even a year undead, and a lot of Brujah resented her audacity. Like the group that approached her tonight.  
  
"Well, well." one sneered. "If it isn't the little bitch-princess."  
  
Sasha sighed impatiently. "Let me guess. You're here to 'persuade' me to drop out of the running."  
  
"You could put it like that. I'd prefer to think of it as kicking the crap out of you and watching you go crying back to big bad Uncle Luna."  
  
Sasha laughed. "Nice imagery. Walk away now, and I won't bother chasing you."  
  
The Brujah made some choice comments which I won't repeat here, and swooped on the neonate. It took Sasha all of thirty seconds to disembowel the other Brujah in an obscene display of sheer strength, after which she got on her motorcycle and calmly rode away, leaving the Nosferatu agent who was spying on the scene to clear up what would otherwise have been a Masquerade breach.  
  
Think about it for a moment. A fledgling of mere months easily butcher a group of older Vampires, some of whom were centuries her superior.  
  
Even stranger, yes?  
  
***  
  
And then, the Tremere. No eyewitnesses reported this one. An associate of mine who went by the name of Augustus was the one to find the Tremere's hideaway, though he was careless enough to let the Tremere present, one Terrance Avid, discover his presence. Mr Avid was rather careless himself, though, in not turning off the tape recorder Augustus had hidden on his person. I used to joke about Augustus' odd habit, but it did allow me to listen to the rather odd occurence of Mr Avid's demise. The transcript of this event is noted here. For the reader's information, the name Tenor refers to Avid's associate and junior, Miss Alisha Tenor.  
  
+++Transcript begins+++  
  
Avid: Filthy Sewer Rat. I hate them. Why must they always poke those hideous noses into my business. And where the hell's Tenor? How long can it take to pick up a meal?  
  
++Impatient footsteps for roughly 45 seconds. A door, probably in another room, slams open hard.++  
  
Avid: Huh? Tenor, is that you?  
  
++Footsteps, followed by a crashing sound.++  
  
Avid: What the...? What...?  
  
Voice: Not my style.  
  
Avid: What do you gurgling sound  
  
Voice: The place needs some decoration. You will do.  
  
++High-pitched screams, followed by crashes and ripping sounds. The screams fade into whimpers, then die out. There are some more crashes and some scraping sounds, then a tearing and odd rubbing sound. Then there is a short rapping sound, like a knock on a door or wall.++  
  
Voice: Enjoy the scene, Kain. Your part in this play is almost done.  
  
++Heavy footsteps, then silence++  
  
+++Transcript ends+++  
  
When the missing Augustus was tracked, I went with Cash to investigate. The scene was one of utter carnage and destruction, wreckage and gore. Augustus' body had been ignored, but Avid's was completely torn apart, only his head recognisable. Written on the wall in blood was the following message:  
  
THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL WHO HAD A LITTLE CURL RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HER FOREHEAD AND WHEN SHE WAS GOOD SHE WAS VERY VERY GOOD BUT WHEN SHE WAS BAD SHE WAS DEATH  
  
***  
  
Three seperate events. One odd, one impossible, and one just plain macabre. And what is the link, you ask? I'll give you a clue. It starts with an H. 


	10. Chapter 9

Daedalus looked down from the balcony. The floor of the Haven was more than half covered in some sort of language, not one that he had ever seen before. Kain had started writing an hour before sunrise the previous night. It was now halfway through the next night, and he hadn't even slowed down.  
  
Raziel was crouched in a corner, staring at the Reaver. He seemed to do that a lot, Daedalus noted. When he had nothing else to do, he would just stare into the light of his weapon. The exact nature of the blade still eluded the Nosferatu Primogen. It appeared as a spirit weapon of some kind, which eminated from Raziel's right claw. Raziel's words on the Reaver were confusing, though. Originally, the Reaver had been a physical weapon, and fed on blood just like a Vampire. It later became a soul-eating blade instead, and then was shattered by Kain in a battle against Raziel. The spirit of the weapon had escaped and bonded itself to Raziel.  
  
An incredible story, but Daedalus could understand it. However, Raziel had also made other strange comments about the sword. He had said that the Reaver was his fate - as long as it existed, it was proof that he was destined for a horrific future. He had also said that the Reaver was himself. He'd made an odd comment, about his present self destroying his past self, and then his present self nearly falling victim to the Reaver, which was his future self. Daedalus didn't understand, and Raziel didn't want to talk about it.  
  
"Raziel?" Daedalus said, if only to break the awkward silence.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What is Caine writing? I can't read it."  
  
Raziel hauled himself up and looked down at the mass of writing. "Nosgoth Blood Script. A very old form of writing, I believe used by the ancient Vampires."  
  
"Can you read it?"  
  
"Normally, yes. But Kain's not writing in true text. They look more like equations. I can't understand much of it."  
  
"Is there any that you do understand?"  
  
"There are names and words mixed in with the equations. I see...Reaver is mentioned the most...Timeline...Unspoken...Paradox...Spirit...Death...Host...Change...Dime nsion...Nosgoth...Here..." Raziel paused. "That's all I can say. It doesn't seem to make much sense."  
  
"What does it all mean?"  
  
"I don't know. Some of it looks related to Timestreaming, though even if Kain had the capability here, I don't know what it would achieve."  
  
"Is it related to the demon?"  
  
"It must be. Kain seems set on eliminating it. But how this all fits, I do not know."  
  
Below, Kain paused for a moment, then made a change to an equation.  
  
***  
  
Julian sat in the lounge, trying to summon a calm demeanor. Despite all that was going on, he had a Masquerade to maintain, and Caitlin knew him well enough to sense when something was wrong. He wasn't sure why Caitlin had asked to see him tonight, but guessed it was because of his inattention lately. Of course, dealing with Kain, Raziel ands Hash'Ak'Gik required 100% of his focus, but he could hardly explain that to Caitlin.  
  
The doors opened, and Caitlin walked in. Julian smiled and offered her a seat. Caitlin sat down and crossed her legs.  
  
"Is everything alright, Julian?"  
  
"Oh, just one of those weeks. Work and everything."  
  
"All work and no play..."  
  
Julian laughed. "I know. But let's forget about work for now."  
  
"I do have one question, actually."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What do you plan to do about Kain and Raziel?"  
  
Julian froze in realization for a moment, then in a flash was on his feet, pointing a gun at Caitlin's head.  
  
"You! Get out of her now, or I swear I'll..."  
  
Caitlin smiled lazily. "What? Kill me? Kill your pet human? If you have the will, do it. It makes no difference to me."  
  
Julian growled, and slowly lowered the gun. He couldn't kill Caitlin, even with Hash in control of her.  
  
"I thought not."  
  
"What do you want, you son of a Lupine bitch?"  
  
Caitlin chuckled. "Harsh, Luna, very harsh. But you don't have to be so dramatic. I care not for you or your city. I came here to make a business arrangement."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's quite simple, Luna. Even you could understand it. I want to destroy Kain. Help me to achieve that, and I'll leave this world, freeing all my Spawn-hosts, including this one here. Really, you stand only to gain. With this one bargain, you get rid of Kain, you get rid of me, and you become free to re-establish your control over this city. What more could you want? Of course, refuse my generous offer, and you shall watch as I kill and control all those you care about, until I finally decide to end your torment. I'll give you until tomorrow, Luna."  
  
Caitlin stood and made for the door. As she reached it, it opened, and Sasha walked in. Caitlin took Sasha by the chin and smiled.  
  
"What a pretty girl."  
  
With that, Caitlin left. Sasha looked from her retreating form to Julian in confusion.  
  
"What the hell was that about?"  
  
***  
  
Kain paused in thought for a short while, then angrily rubbed away part of his writing.  
  
"Useless. If only I'd picked up the other one...wait, perhaps..."  
  
***  
  
Cash sighed and leant on the handlebars of his bike. His patrol had eliminated four of Hash's slaves, only to have one of his own gang suddenly try to attack him. Helmet had been a friend of his for several decades, but that had been squashed by the big black-furred bastard in a moment. Now Helmet was a burned corpse being removed by the remnants of the gang.  
  
His heightened senses suddenly flared up. He sensed movement in a nearby junkyard. Carefully, he locked his bike and stalked into the yard.  
  
Between two piles of junk, a pair of Gangrel were stalking a human. It could be a simple hunt, of course, but there was a definite sinister air to the scene. Cash decided to take a chance. Hiding in the shadows of a pile of wrecked cars, he called out a word.  
  
"Caine!"  
  
The two Vampires were alerted, letting the human run off. One of them said "Kain mustn't find the rune!" It was enough for Cash. From the shadows, he fired a phosphorus shot into the right ear of one Vampire. The other one started to pull out a gun of his own, but Cash shot him in the temple long before he'd brought it to bear. Letting loose one final shot, killing the Brujah that had thought itself hidden behind a nearby bulldozer, Cash checked the bodies, then started to search the yard. He didn't know what the rune the Vampire had mentioned was, but if Hash'Ak'Gik didn't want Caine to find it, it could well help to give the monster the proverbial boot.  
  
An experienced hunter, Cash found the rune in minutes. It was a large complex design on the ground in human blood, which had been hidden (poorly, in Cash's opinion) under a small pile of sheeting. Cash pondered the situation, then decided to attempt a use of the Spirit's Touch. Hopefully, it might give him some insight into Hash's position.  
  
Moments passed, and Cash's eyes suddenly flew open.  
  
"Sasha! No!"  
  
Cash forced down the urge to run to Sasha or Julian. That wouldn't help without some more information. He concentrated again, until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed his phone and dialed.  
  
"Come on...come on...Lillie! It's Cash! Listen, I know who Hash's true host..."  
  
And then Cash's world crashed into darkness.  
  
***  
  
"Sasha, why are you running for the place of Brujah Primogen?" Julian asked in a strained tone.  
  
Sasha shrugged. "With all the crap coming down right now, I thought you'd appreciate another ally in high places. It'd help with stability and all that."  
  
"Sasha, listen to me. We don't have time to play these games right now. There are things going on that could shatter the Masquerade, bring all sorts of forces like Sabbat, Lupines and the Inquisition onto us, or just plain get us killed. You can't mess around with the Clans like this."  
  
Sasha bristled. "Oh, really? I didn't ask to get pulled into your world, you know. I didn't ask for a bunch of your rival Fiori's goons to force their blood into me! But it happened, and I'm going to make the best of it, my way."  
  
"Damn it Sasha, will you just..."  
  
The argument was interrupted when Lillie burst in.  
  
"Julian! Sasha!"  
  
"What? What's happened?"  
  
"It's Cash!"  
  
"Cash?" Sasha grabbed Lillie. "What's happened? Where is he?"  
  
"I don't know. I got a call from him. He'd discovered something, but he got cut off before he could tell me. I think...Hash'Ak'Gik may have him."  
  
***  
  
Kain was working frantically now, like a Vampire possessed.  
  
"If I draw out his spirit like this, than that will kick-start the paradox...and if the strike's made at the right time...yes...yes! I have it! Hash, your days are numbered!" 


	11. Chapter 10

Cash wasn't aware of how much time had passed. His torturer hadn't inflicted any fatal wounds on him so far, but Vampires weren't immune to pain. He was fairly sure it was some time during the day, and the fatigue added to the pain was starting to make him delirious. The Beast inside roared in anger, urging him to frenzy, but his body was too tired and battered to do more than rattle his chains. Cash was forced awake by the pain, but had to struggle to keep lucid. And that wasn't the most inviting option, given the identity of the possessed Vampire tormenting him.  
  
She was wearing her usual biker wear, leather pants and jacket, with a delicate lace blouse. Her face had a look of unfamiliar glee, not the sly smile she normally gave Cash when she wasn't playing the angry Brujah. The fact that it was Sasha, even a possessed Sasha, hurt the Gangrel more than the physical pain.  
  
"Oh, Cash." Sasha sighed. "You look upset. Why could that be? You still have three fingers left unbroken."  
  
There was a wet snap, and another screech from Cash.  
  
"...two fingers left unbroken." Sasha purred. her hand caressed Cash's cheek. "Are you upset that your would-be lover turned out to be a big black- furred beastie? If you want, I'll make it up to you."  
  
Sasha shrugged off her jacket, then slowly started to undo her blouse. Cash stared for a moment, then roared and lurched to her with claws flailing. Sasha grabbed Cash's wrist and squeezed, aggravating a broken wrist.  
  
"So you like it rough, do you? Whatever you say."  
  
Sasha pressed up close to Cash, embracing him tenderly. But the hug grew in strength, quickly crushing Cash's body. Sasha twisted suddenly, and a broken shard of bone shot out of Cash's shoulder. Sahsa grinned and stepped back.  
  
"Ooops...ah, if that mechanical timekeeping device on the wall is true, then night would have fallen again this past hour. Congratulations, Cash. You made it through the day!"  
  
Sasha looked at the other Vampire in the room. A Gangrel had been standing by the open door, simply watching the room throughout the entire scene. He looked at Sasha, nodded, then left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
"It's been several hours, but the Nosferatu that was in this room has finally left, Cash. With any luck, Kain and his merry band should be here in a few more hours."  
  
Sasha stretched and paced around the room.  
  
"What a wonderful world this is. I wonder...once the Vampire and Soul Reaver are dead, Nosgoth will fall to my allies easily enough. But why settle for one world? Earth seems just as lucrative to me. What do you think, Cash? From this one city, I can create my own empire. First the Brujah Clan, then the Gangrel...speaking of which, it's time for your medicine."  
  
Cash started struggling wildly, desperately. But he was too exhausted and hurt to escape the chains. Sasha punched him hard in the stomach, then with a small knife she sliced a cut in her wrist.  
  
"So much more pleasurable than simple possession...don't fuss so, Cash. At sunrise tonight, you'll have your final dose, and then you'll see things my way."  
  
Sasha pressed her wrist to Cash's lips. Cash, hungry and with a body to repair, was compelled to drink.  
  
***  
  
A very old, very expensive vase met its end at the hand, or rather the fist, of Julian Luna. Sasha's disappearance, no doubt a reckless attempt to find Cash, was the latest in an ever-growing pile of problems for the Prince. With each new problem, he found his control of the situation slipping a little more. The previous night, it had merely been far beyond his control. Now he preferred to think of it as a waking nightmare. What he could really do with was some good news.  
  
Daedalus' expression on entering the room didn't give him much hope of that.  
  
"Daedalus, please tell me you found Cash or Sasha."  
  
"We have."  
  
Julian did a double-take. He'd gotten so conditioned to bad news by now that the good news caught him totally off guard. He started to smile, but on seeing Daedalus' morose expression, he faltered.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Cash is in the basement of a condemned block of flats on the other side of the city. He's being tortured by a possessed Vampire. My spy spent the entire day in Cash's chamber, and he got the impression that the torturer is the true host of the monster."  
  
Julian sensed a lot of discomfort from the Nosferatu Primogen. "Who is it?"  
  
Daedalus sighed. "Sasha."  
  
Julian felt like he'd been shot in the abdomen. He folded up, just a little, and rested a hand on the back of a chair. "Sa...Sasha..?"  
  
Daedalus was speaking, but the words weren't registering. Julian was remembering the day Sasha had come to live with him. How Eddie Fiori ordered his Brujah to Embrace her, just as a slap in Julian's face. The troubles and trials Sasha had endured since being forced into Undeath. And now becoming the host body for a monster from another world.  
  
Was this all his fault? Could he have done something to prevent it?  
  
"Julian." Daedalus pressed. "Caine seems to think he has a solution. Maybe it can save Sasha."  
  
"He isn't interested in saving her." Julian spat.  
  
"There's always a chance. And even if it means Sasha's death, at least it would save her soul from Hash'Ak'Gik."  
  
Julian hung his head and followed Daedalus into the main room of the Haven. Kain and Raziel were arguing. That, at least, was normal.  
  
"I have thought this through, and it will work!"  
  
"Stab Hash'Ak'Gik with the Reaver. What a plan, Kain. A day and a night working, the entire floor and most of the walls covered in equations and arcane runes, and it all comes down to 'Stab him'. Of course, the Timeline will have something to say about me killing him years before he dies at your hands."  
  
"You can use the Reaver to change the Timeline, Raziel. You've done it before."  
  
"Perhaps my memory is fading, Kain." Raziel's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Still, I seem to remember that two Reavers are needed to make the Paradox that changes time."  
  
"We are not in Nosgoth, Raziel. We are in a completely different world. As such, the rules are different. You and the Reaver are two incarnations of the same soul connected in the same place and time. While in Nosgoth this means little without another incarnation of the blade, on Earth it will be sufficient."  
  
If Raziel had still had a jaw, it would have dropped. "You can't possibly believe that! What in the name of the Pillars are you basing this on?"  
  
"My equations support this theory."  
  
"I don't believe that for a moment. You're grasping at straws."  
  
Kain ignored him. "If I'm right, you'll feel a different sensation to the vertigo in Nosgoth. It will be a weakening, one you must fight through and continue the attack."  
  
"This is madness!"  
  
"That's enough!" Julian cried. "Raziel, do you have a better plan?"  
  
Raziel paused. "No." he finally admitted.  
  
"Then we have no choice."  
  
Daedalus watched the scene with interest. Caine's mannerisms seemed confident and sincere. Too much so. He definitely had a plan, and needed Raziel to use the Reaver on the Unspoken, but his justifications were weak at best, too weak to match the Vampire Lord's certainty. He was hiding something important. But what?  
  
***  
  
Just under two hours later, Julian, Kain, Raziel, and the remaining Primogens were facing off Sasha and a small entourage on the road outside the building that Daedalus' spy had infiltrated. The fact that Hash had been waiting for them in plain sight on the street was a little unnerving, but there wasn't much to be done about it.  
  
Kain stood forward. "No more, demon. Tonight, your part in this game ends."  
  
Sasha smiled. "We'll see, Vampire."  
  
Sasha ran forward at blinding speed. Even an Elder would have had trouble dodging her attack. But she didn't get a chance to begin, as Kain telekinetically hauled her off the ground and threw her into a wall.  
  
Sasha pulled herself up and charged again, only to get the same result. A third charge ended when Kain embedded his boot into her face.  
  
"Your attacks are an insult to my power, demon."  
  
Sasha spat out blood and smirked. "Good for you. But we both know that this won't end in my death. You can't kill me here and now - I die some years from now at the Pillars of Nosgoth. However much you beat me, you can never deliver the final blow. Eventually, I will win, even if it takes me years."  
  
Julian growled. He held his ground, if only because he was equally likely to go after the Nosgothian for his attacks on Sasha as he was Sasha herself. Daedalus, on the other hand, slipped into the shadows and made his way unseen into the building.  
  
"Nice try." Kain laughed. "I may be unable to finish you off, but Raziel can. Trust me on this."  
  
Kain stepped back, allowing Raziel to step forward.  
  
"This should be interesting." murmured Lillie.  
  
"Interesting? He's going to kill Sasha!" Julian cried.  
  
"Better dead than enslaved. Just keep thinking that, Julian."  
  
Raziel didn't bother with words. He threw a projectile bolt that knocked Sasha to the ground, then delivered a kick that broke Sasha's knee. As the possessed Brujah crumpled to the ground, Raziel activated the Reaver. It shone a bright golden light. Several nearby Vampires immediately backed off.  
  
"Sasha, if you can hear me, I've imbued the Reaver with light. Even if Kain's plan fails, which wouldn't surprise me, it should incapacitate your body enough to cripple Hash'ak'Gik. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."  
  
Sasha chuckled coldly. "How noble. Finish it, Raziel, if you can."  
  
A few yards away, Daedalus lurched out of the building with Cash supported over his shoulder. He'd given Cash a vial of blood which had brought the Gangrel back to his senses, though hadn't even come close to repairing the damage to his body.  
  
As Cash looked up painfully, his eyes widened at the scene of a beaten Sasha in a heap, about to be finished off by Raziel and the Light Reaver. He tried to run towards Sasha, but Daedalus held him firmly.  
  
"Cash, I'm sorry, but it has to be this way. At least like this Sasha will be free."  
  
"We have to stop it! Please!"  
  
"This is the only way..."  
  
"You don't understand!" Cash cried desperately. "Sasha isn't Hash'Ak'Gik's host!" 


	12. Chapter 11

In that moment at the Haven, when Kain had killed Cameron and Hash'Ak'Gik had fled to the Spectral Realm, a plan had already formed in the monster's mind. The problem was how to execute it. Spawn Worms in a physical world could only be created in a Vampire's or Werewolf's body, due to the unique reproductive abilities of the species. And not any Vampire or Werewolf, but a particularly powerful one - anything less and the body would just fall apart before the Worm could be expelled. And there was the other factor - the body had to be dead. No more than a year old, as by about that point the body would have decayed enough to be unusable. Yet if the body was still animate, the life force, even in an undead body, would reject the unholy spawn that Hash needed to form.  
  
A most unlikely set of circumstances indeed. So the Unspoken couldn't believe his luck when he reached out with his senses and found the perfect candidate.  
  
After that, things were easy. Using primarily female bodies such as Sasha and Caitlin to rile Kain and Luna, leaving those childish clues like the rhyme about the girl. Kain's problem was that he was far too used to dealing with characters like Moebius who revelled in playing games and taunting their enemies with riddles and half-truths. Hash preferred a straight up lie - what was the sense of giving your hated enemy clues that might just lead to your downfall?  
  
From the shadows, he'd watched as Kain and his little entourage confronted Sasha, believing her to be the real host. Hash was fine with that. Kain claimed to have a plan, and while Hash didn't think he could lose, he still thought it prudent to sacrifice Sasha to see what this so-called plan was, allowing him to counter it. He chuckled, thinking of the look Kain would have on his face when he realised just how easily the Dark Entity had outwit him.  
  
Except that something unexpected happened. Kain had stepped back to allow Raziel to fight, apparently part of his plan. But before Raziel could begin whatever it was he was supposed to do, Daedalus sprang out from somewhere and knocked Sasha out of the way. Hash cursed himself for not paying more attention to the Nosferatu. The Sewer Rat had managed to sneak away from the battle and rescue Cash, who was now telling the others that he knew who the real host was.  
  
Hash sighed and pulled a phosphorus gun from his belt, the same one he'd "liberated" from Cameron. It seemed that his secret was about to be blown. If that was so, he may as well make a dramatic entrance.  
  
***  
  
"Not the host?" Raziel groaned. "Then why am I fighting this pointless battle? This is what I get for considering Kain's insane plan."  
  
Kain ignored Raziel's outburst. "Well then, Gangrel, perhaps you could cease telling us who isn't the host and start telling us who is."  
  
Cash coughed up a little blood. "I'm sorry, Julian. I couldn't believe it, but..."  
  
Julian put a hand on Cash's shoulder. "What is it?"  
  
A loud bang echoed throughout the street, and Cash fell to the floor, clutching the rib that had broken for the third time in a week. The others span around to see the figure stalking towards them. Kain and Raziel had never seen him before, but the others all wore expressions of recognition and horror.  
  
"That would be me, Kain. So good to see you again Julian. I wish you'd accepted my offer."  
  
Julian staggered back a step. "Archon...?"  
  
Luna's sire sneered. "You really should have taken up my offer, Julian. But you always were so principled. What a disappointment..."  
  
Luna had had a couple of really bad days. Demons, super-powered Vampires, Sabbat, the possession of his niece and lover had taken their toll on him. The sight of Hash taking over the body of the Vampire who had sired him was the final straw. For the first time in years, Julian failed to keep the Beast reined in, and lost himself to a Frenzy.  
  
Luna's leap caught everyone, even Hash-Archon himself, totally by surprise. In the space of a heartbeat, clawed hands had slashed across Archon's face, tearing through skin, muscle, and coming close to gouging out an eye.  
  
"Luna, stop this!" Kain cried.  
  
"Julian!" Daedalus grabbed his friend and pulled him away from the possessed Archon. Hash-Archon laughed.  
  
"How touching."  
  
"Your incompetence continues to astound me." Kain said. "To direct us to a false host in order to see in advance what our plan to defeat you was. Not a bad plan. But it seems that you couldn't even do that. Your entire existence seems to be a string of mistakes and bad decisions. But if you so desire to see our plan, we shall not disappoint."  
  
Raziel stepped in front of Hash-Archon. "That sounds like my cue, demon."  
  
Raziel didn't try to fight. He simply stabbed forward with the Reaver. Hash- Archon didn't even try to dodge. The Reaver's tip came within an inch of stabbing him through the chest. And then Raziel was blasted with a horrendous sense of vertigo, and it seemed that a hurricane was shooting out from the possessed body to stop him from impaling the monster.  
  
"Caine!" screamed Luna. "What's happening?"  
  
"A paradox!" Kain yelled back. "The Timeline is asserting its authority! It won't let Raziel kill the Unspoken here and now!"  
  
"I thought you said Raziel could kill Hash'Ak'Gik!"  
  
"He can, but he needs a little help!"  
  
Kain, now standing a few metres behind Raziel, thrust out both arms. His body seemed to glow with blue energy. For a moment, nothing obvious happened. Then Raziel's body started to fade slightly. Little sparks began to shoot from it.  
  
"Ugh...this is the weakening...Kain mentioned...?" Raziel whispered. He put more strength into the thrust, trying to finish his attack and wipe the smirk from Hash-Archon's face.  
  
"Caine!" shouted Daedalus. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Spirit Death!" Kain replied. "A spell that destroys a person's soul!"  
  
Daedalus gaped in horror. "You're going to kill Raziel?! How can you...? I won't let you!"  
  
Daedalus started to attack Kain, but the Nosgothian shook his head.  
  
"No! Raziel's soul in the future becomes the spirit of the Reaver he uses now! So if I try to destroy him now..."  
  
Lillie grabbed Daedalus by the shoulder. "He's trying to create a second paradox!"  
  
Kain nodded. "Yes! And if I'm right, the two may just balance each other long enough for Raziel to finish his job!"  
  
As Raziel grew weaker, a second distortion manifested around him. Hash- Archon's eyes grew wide.  
  
"Wha...what's happening?"  
  
Raziel's vision was starting to fade, but he was still struggling to finish the attack. The gale obstructing him was as strong as ever, but he felt a second push from his other side. For a moment, the push from behind combined with his own fading strength managed to overcome the distortion coming from in front of him...  
  
...and the Reaver slammed into the chest of Hash-Archon.  
  
"Aaaak...but...that's impossible..."  
  
Hash-Archon screamed in agony. Sasha, and various other Vampires and humans around the city that had been possessed by him screamed in unison. Then Archon's body started to grow into Hash'Ak'Gik's normal form, the huge black-furred monster. It didn't help. Hash's soul was torn from his body, and he was devoured by the Reaver.  
  
The moment Hash died, the vertigo increased dramatically, feeling more like an earthquake. Raziel slumped to his knees in exhaustion, while the others tried to keep their balance.  
  
Daedalus clutched a tree and looked over to the Nosgothians. To his surprise, each shake of his vision made their forms seem more and more indistinct. The shaking slowed, and finally vanished, along with Kain and Raziel.  
  
"Ugh...I haven't felt this bad since I was first embraced..." Lillie groaned.  
  
Sasha stirred on the ground. "What happened? I feel like crap..." She shakily got to her feet, then noticed the Gangrel Primogen on the floor nearby. "Cash..? Cash?!"  
  
Sasha dashed to Cash and frantically searched for signs of unlife. To her immense relief, Cash opened his eyes and gave a weak smile.  
  
"Hey Sasha. Glad to see you back."  
  
"Cash! What happened? Who did this to you?"  
  
The sounds of police sirens filled the air. The authorities wouldn't take long to get there.  
  
"Dammit." Luna cursed. "Everyone get out of the area! Sasha, Daedalus, help Cash back to my house. Move it, people!"  
  
The Kindred started clearing the area, eager to move past the bizarre happenings of that night.  
  
"What do you think happened to Caine and Raziel?" Lillie wondered.  
  
"There's no way to know. Maybe they were returned to Nosgoth." Daedalus guessed. "I hope so. Though they were two unforgettable creatures."  
  
"I'll say." growled Luna. "We'll have to move Heaven and Earth to fix the Masquerade this time!"  
  
The Prince turned back to the blackened area of tarmac where Hash had fallen to Raziel.  
  
"Archon..."  
  
And with one more wistful sigh, the Vampires were gone.  
  
***  
  
Kain felt like he'd tripped backwards into water (and become immune to its destructive effect on his kind). His senses were blurry, and he felt like he was both falling and flying at the same time.  
  
And then the sensation passed, and Kain stumbled to his knees in the Sarafan Stronghold.  
  
"Ha! I was right! A change in one dimension's Timeline caused by residents of another dimension...the easiest way to rid the problem - spit the alien presence back into its home! Perfect! Now, Moebius, Azimuth, it's my turn to take out some frustrations..."  
  
Kain paused, then looked around.  
  
"Raziel?"  
  
***  
  
Raziel collapsed on the cold floor of the Spectral Realm. Slowly, regathering his energy, he got to his feet. He took a look around.  
  
"Where am I? Even distorted in this Realm, this doesn't look like the Stronghold."  
  
Raziel made a quick search for lost souls and a Sluagh to regain his strength, then headed for the nearest Portal. Steps away from it, though, the portal simply faded out of existence.  
  
"What's happening?"  
  
Raziel didn't expect anyone to answer him. But someone did. A familiar and most unwelcome voice echoed in his head.  
  
"You have spurned my plans for you, Raziel. These portals are mine, and I no longer permit you to use them." chuckled the Elder God.  
  
"You! This is the last time you'll interfere with me, monstrosity!"  
  
"You may well be right." the Elder God laughed at Raziel. "You have played your part, and now you shall stay in my Realm for eternity. Rant and snarl your defiance all you wish, Raziel, but as I told you before, you are mine - forever!"  
  
Raziel bristled, but kept calm.  
  
"I doubt your omnipresence, abomination. Perhaps you can keep my enslaved forever. But then again...we shall see." 


End file.
